The Weird Ones
by Flaming Black Skull
Summary: Neil hasn't had the best childhood, so he's not the most well adjusted person on the planet. Neither is Alice - The new farmer who just moved into town. They have a lot in common; maybe too much. They've been treated like outcasts their whole lives. Finding a kindred spirit in one another, an unorthodox friendship starts to bloom.
1. Chapter 1

Dunhill knocked on my door early this morning saying something about how the rancher person we had been expecting finally made it into town. Said something about being glad I came back, and that he was worried I'd just decided to run off for good without telling anyone. He went on, saying that he was hoping to catch me at home, since he –creepily– noticed my lights on late last night for the first time in weeks. I'm not sure where else he thought I would have been at six in the morning, but nevertheless I had received the news about the rancher without the enthusiasm he had expected me to show.

I listened to him for about five minutes ramble on about how this was the start of _a new beginning_ for our little decaying town before I finally reminded him that I was standing in my doorway in just my pajamas, and that he should probably leave me alone because I don't care.

"Oh, before I go-"

"Great, what is it now?" I groaned.

"Could you do me a _little_ favor?" He put his fingers up and squished them together to show me just _how_ little.

"Depends." I grimaced at him. He smiled, annoyingly ignoring my grumpy demeanor. He reached into his musty old jacket pocket and pulled out some money.

"Could you bring over a cow to the new farmer today? It would really help them get started. Of course, I won't ask you to do it for free. I know times are hard right now, but I'm confident that it'll get better soon and-" I took the money out of his hand, interrupting his rambling, and crumpled it in my own.

"-Sure, I guess." I shrugged. "I'll let em' know it was your idea."

"Yes, as a welcoming gift. Thanks Neil." He gave me another of his yellow-toothed smiles and I shut the door in his face. I turned my back to the door and listened for his footsteps to fade off before walking over to my dining table and setting the money down.

Great. I was expected to converse with a stranger. Didn't Dunhill know how excruciatingly painful that was for me? Probably not. It didn't help that he told me literally nothing about this person. Maybe I should have asked, but how was I to know he wanted me to do this beforehand? He can't expect me to be warm and welcoming. I hope he doesn't, at least. I purposefully don't come off as the warmest.

I ate breakfast and then decided to take a shower. As the warm water hit my aching back, I thought about what kind of person this rancher could be.

The farm had been apparently passed down to the first borne son from generation to generation in their family, which lead me to believe that this person was probably a guy. His father had worked on it a little during the past twenty some-odd years, but before then the farm was more like a summer-time project. Dunhill had once told me that he knew this guy's parents well during their adolescence and young-adulthood before they got married; The father would come every summer to work with _his _dad, and her family used to own a summer home here. Obviously ritzy people. Before that, I guess Dunhill knew the new rancher's grandpa, especially because he had continued to come with his son during the summers. The rest of their family history was unknown, since Dunhill himself wasn't here, and he's the longest living resident currently in town.

I hoped this guy wasn't some sort of 'ooh-look-at-me' selfish type just looking for a way to beef up his hobby-list to impress other people. If he was going to be getting any sort of livestock from me, he better take care of the damn thing right. That's what animals deserve, anyhow. People tend to forget that they are living creatures too.

I was forced out of my thoughts when the water turned cold in my shower. I grumbled obscenities to myself and managed to turn it off before I froze to death. I toweled off and threw on some clothes before I headed out the door.

* * *

><p>After returning from my supplier with the gift cow, (the one I had already affectionately named Milkshake; shortened to Shake; at birth) I headed off in the direction of the farm. The path wasn't like the rest in town, but instead was composed of dead trampled grass. It showed how often people came and went from there. I tugged the stubborn cow down the way until I finally saw the roof of the farmhouse in view. There were some boxes sitting near the front door, right along the stepping-stone path, labeled things like 'KITCHEN' and 'CLOTHES', and I had to admit the house looked cozier than any of the other times I had saw it during my many random strolls past it. I mentally prepared myself for the exchange that was about to happen. I would tell the guy it was all Dunhill's idea and not to feel like we would be friends or anything; this was just business. I would then ask him if he even knew about livestock, to which he'd probably say no because he's probably a stupid rich-kid, and then-<p>

"Good morning!" I stiffened from the shock of the voice intruding my thoughts. It registered as surprisingly feminine, and I tried to search for it's owner. "Oops, sorry. You probably can't see me-" The female voice laughed, and I heard shuffling. The voice's owner came into view, and I stood completely dumbfounded.

She emerged from behind the tall stack of boxes, standing no more than 5 feet,if that. The more shocking part was how she looked. She had very long, very curly black hair with the sides shaved close to her head. On her feet were chunky combat boots with zippers all over them. (I was pretty jealous of them, if I have to be completely honest.) Her outfit was certainly different than anything I had ever seen before, too. It was a black pair of – What do people call those overalls that have shorts instead of full length pants? Short-alls? Anyways, they were black Short-alls with a white ribcage and pelvis printed on the,. Underneath that was a short sleeved black-and-white striped shirt. On her wrists were pointy spikes on black leather straps. She had a bat hair clip taming her bangs.

What the hell?

"Well? Aren't you going to say good morning back?" She held her hands behind her back.

"You're a g-girl?" I said stupidly, blinking.

"Last time I checked, yeah. Is that cow for me?" She pointed and smiled,walking closer to me and Shake. I narrowed my eyes at her defensively, standing in front of the cow.

"No, it's my pet. I'm just walking her like I normally do in the mornings." I replied, sarcasm dripping venomously from my words. She smiled wider at me, which made me feel even more nervous and _now_ a bit frustrated. She was unphased by me.

"I _really_ hope you are being serious right now because that would be _the best thing!_ Like, ever." She beamed, taking the liberty to side step me and pat the cow on her large head. "You're a cutey, miss!" Her eyes softened, and the cow nuzzled her hand with it's nose. They bonded for a few moments before she remembered I existed. "So, hi. " She said quietly, her red eyes sliding up to meet my face.

"...Hi." I grunted. "Um, I'm Neil." Idiot.

"What are you here for, _Neil_? Well, besides, of course, taking your pet cow on a walk?" She winked. I flushed with nervousness. Stick to the plan. Go through with what you rehearsed.

"Dunhill sent me. He wants to give you this cow as a welcoming gift and as a way to help start you up." I mumbled. "I run the animal shop, so if you need supplies, you come to me. My shop is open Monday thru Thursday from 10am-6pm in the plaza." I handed her Shake's reigns. I noticed her hesitate for a moment before she took them.

"Oh, right. Thanks. Send Dunhill my thanks, too." Her eyes met mine. I actively avoided her gaze and looked back to the cow.

"What are you going to name her?" I reached over and patted the cow's back.

"Her? Oh, uh. Hm. What do _you_ think I should name her?" I felt her eyes still on me, She was studying me. I focused on tracing the spots on the back of the cow with my hand.

"It's not my cow." I answered simply, still avoiding her stare.

"-But you're pretty attached to her. I can tell. She _must _have a name already. Do you take care of them all yourself?" The intensity of her eyes waned, and I could only assume she had noticed my hand stroking the bovine's spine.

"...Yeah, I raise them, sorta. I hand-pick them from my supplier and visit them in the mornings." I admitted. "...Her name is Milkshake. I call her Shake." At the sound of her name the cow turned to look at me. I turned to gauge the reaction on the new rancher's face and was met with a huge grin.

"I absolutely _love_ that name. Hi Shake!" She pressed her head against the creature's. "Welcome to your new home! I'm glad I spent most of yesterday cleaning out the barn and preparing the fields. I hope you like it here." She turned to me suddenly. "Don't worry, Neil. I'll take care of her. I have some experience with livestock already from volunteering, but if I have any questions or concerns I'll be sure to come to you first." I felt a little relieved at her softness with my cow and with her promise to keep me in the loop, but I was still nervous to just turn the animal over to her.

"Are you sure you don't have any more questions?" I crossed my arms. She gazed lovingly at the cow.

"Nah, but if I do I'll find you." Her eyes slid back to me. "Thanks again. And remember to tell Dunhill I said thanks too. This was really nice of you guys."

"This was all Dunhill's idea." I reminded her. " I... Could care less, to be honest." I grumbled. "But I'll make sure to pass on what you said." I turned on my heel and began to leave. "And remember, she's counting on you to take care of her, so don't screw up." I called back to her.

"...Hey! My name's Alice!" She called back out. "You never asked!"

"Because I don't care." I mumbled to myself.

And why should I? With the way she dressed, she wouldn't last a year. Some city girl who _thought _she liked animals. Once she was knee deep in barn-waste she would call it quits.

* * *

><p>I had just sat down to dinner before I heard a knock at the door. I cursed under my breath as I stomped over to answer it.<p>

"It better be important." I growled, half-expecting the rancher to be on my doorstep. It turned out that it was only Dunhill.

"Hello, good evening Neil. I trust you did what I asked? Did they like it?"

"Yeah." I grunted. "I'm eating dinner now so-" I tried to close the door but Dunhill extended his arm inside my home to stop me.

"I just have a few questions-"

"She said to thank you for the gift. That's it. I was going to tell you next time I saw you." I lied. I probably would've forgotten by tomorrow morning if I was being completely honest.

"-Oh?" He seemed surprised. "What a polite young lady." He smiled to himself.

"Yeah. Wish you would have told me that 'they' was a 'she,' by the way." I crossed my arms.

"Well, did you like her?" He raised his eyebrows in way that made me feel uncomfortable. I was suddenly aware of how much he smelled of cigars, too. I took a step back into my house. What a creepy old man.

"She seems decent enough, why?" I squinted at him. I knew what he was probably trying to get at.

"Oh, well, you're both around the same age, and me and the ladies were talking, and they said that it might be a good idea for you two to get to know each other and-"

"-Is _that _really why you sent me, Dunhill?" I asked behind clenched teeth. "You, Emma, and Hana want to set me up on goddamn date with this chick? Because that's _definitely _not happening."

"W-well, no, but you don't think she's-?"

"I don't care. I'm not interested in dating women right now, or _anybody_. I just want to be left alone." I said, staring right into his eyes. "Look, I'm glad to have another customer, but that is it. Thanks but no thanks." I shut the door in his surprised face.

* * *

><p>As the spring waned on and people heard of Echo Village's stabilizing economy, more people started coming in. A few new faces could be seen around town; namely a blacksmith and some woman with her snot-nosed kid. After they moved in and summer began, it seemed like new stores were cropping up every week. Before long we had a salon with some egotistical jerk running it and a new journalist who delivered our mail living in the village. There was a little less peace and quiet, but everyone's spirits seemed to be lifted. I guess that's what making more money can do to you.<p>

I stayed in contact with Alice over the course of spring and summer. She made the effort to come see me at least once a day to keep me up to date about Shake, which I have admit I sort of hated seeing her _all the time_, but after a while I got used to her intruding on my solitude. We started to makee small talk when she came, like 'how was your day?' or 'You know what I heard from Hana?' or things like that; And if I had to be completely honest I'd admit that it certainly made it easier on me to make business transactions with her, at the very least. She usually bought something from my shop about once a week. Eventually she had enough saved up and bought another cow and a couple of chickens. I made sure to physically deliver them to her farm to make sure she was going to take care of them correctly, but after the third chicken I began to trust her.

You see, for me...This whole 'trust' thing was kind of a big deal. Those animals were really important to me. Each one was special. They had different personalities and ways of behaving. But...The the last time I went to check on the animals, I saw her standing in the middle of her field with them all surrounding her. I don't know, it was something about the way they seemed so happy and excited to see her. One of my skittish chickens was even sitting on her arm. I didn't stay long and I knew she never saw me, but one thing I did see was that she talked to each one tenderly, as if they were her friends.

I don't know, I guess after I saw that I really started to develop some trust in her. I went so far as to even hand-pick animals I thought might be good for her to have, specifically. Higher quality than my usual standard, but ones that needed more TLC than the average stock. I knew she would treat them better than anyone else.

As Fall approached and the town gained a restaurant and clinic, I noticed some whispers going around. At first it was all negative; _'Oh the weird farm girl...She's a strange one...Wears black all the time...'_ But eventually she started becoming something of a local hero. _'What a lovely girl...Gives me nice things all the time...She's such a thoughtful dear...She built me a nice house!' _And then after that came the rumors that she had started dating someone in town, specifically the jerk who owned the salon. I had first heard it from the nosy busy-body that was Tina the journalist/mail-carrier, so I wasn't inclined to believe it. I didn't think too much of it until she came to my shop for some more chicken-feed one day.

"...Do you want some help carrying all that?" I offered, the words spilling out of my mouth faster than I could register what I was saying. She smiled at me and thanked me for my kindness.

"I take ten, you take ten?" She asked, hoisting up the parcel over her shoulder. I nodded deftly and mirrored her. We had walked in silence up until we passed my house. "...So, what's with the sudden niceties?" She asked, her eyes sliding to meet my face. I saw a smirk forming on her lips, our elbows accidentally bumped, and I became suddenly self-conscious. I didn't realize how close we had been walking together. I took a few steps to the side so we had about a two-person length between us.

"Uh, I dunno, I just figured it might be nice to help you out. I mean, you always looks so busy or exhausted..." I mumbled. Suddenly a bit of anger flared up in my chest. She had the audacity to assume I was helping her for some _other _reason? "Why, do I _have_ to have an ulterior motive to be nice? Is that the kind of guy you think I am?"

She laughed at my sudden defensiveness before she said, "Well, sorta. ...I bet you heard about me and Allen, right?" I stared hard at the road, trying to come up with something smart to remark. Nothing came.

"Well, I did hear about that, but what makes you think I care about stupid rumors like that?"

"I don't." I was taken aback by her answer, which she seemed pleased by. "-But that doesn't mean you aren't curious." I felt my whole body tense in frustration. She did have me there. What was I supposed to say to that? "Well, if you want the truth; No. We aren't dating. I don't even know why that rumor started. I mean, we're hardly even friends. We barely even talk. He doesn't really like me at all, to be completely honest; which you probably wouldn't know _since you're always holed up in your house or out wandering by yourself_. " She continued on quickly before I could protest her obvious judgment of my character. "I don't know, I think he senses I could care less about this whole... 'Princess' BS he likes to spew. Y'see, I'm the kind of girl that doesn't take too kindly with being controlled. I don't fit into boxes neatly, you know? He also _hates _what I do with my hair, says it's not very lady-like. Though I know he admires my edginess in his heart of hearts. And I am just not fond of a man who says I need to earn his praise; as if that is some sort of prized goal." She mused. "So, no. Me and Allen? Never. I do enjoy his honesty...And maybe even his company on select occasions, but Allen and I could never be anything more than friends."

"Hm." I didn't know what else to say. She offered a lot of insight on a man I've only ever met the once, when he first came into town. He seemed to exude this charismatic charm that I had to admit I was a bit envious of; but he always seemed to have some woman falling all over herself to please him, which I didn't like. He seemed like such a wad. At least I knew my lack of desire to speak to him was not all paranoia.

"Does that satisfy your curiosity?" She grinned at me. I gave her an expression of annoyance.

"I never _said_ I was curious." I corrected her.

"You never said you _weren't_, either."

"What makes you think I care, anyways?" I repeated.

"I don't know, maybe because you would like to know if there'd be anyone else in your animal's lives?" She offered. Wow. "Look, let's say I _did_ like Allen and we _did_ date, hypothetically. Let's say we got married, even." She continued, "I just don't think that guy is simply cut out for farming. I mean sure, he's the kind of infuriating guy who can just pick up whatever and be good at it, but doing what I do- I mean, what _you and I_ do, it isn't something that can be learned. I take that kind of stuff into account when I choose a mate. Tenderness...And obviously enjoying the things I love. Allen doesn't like horror movies _or_ being empathetic. Not good." She shrugged. "I like my men sensitive _and_ hard to scare."

"-You said _my _animals." I changed the subject, feeling a little awkward that she would feel comfortable enough to share that sort of stuff with me. "They aren't my animals anymore; never were, actually."

"Oh come on, let's be honest. You basically _let _me have them. I see you out here-" She gestured to her fields with her head, "-every once in a while, visiting them." I felt embarrassment creep across my face. "Oh, don't worry. I know you're not creeping on me or anything." She laughed at my expense and continued, "I think it's actually kinda cute. They seem happy to see you too." Her shed was coming into view, so I picked up the pace.

"Well, it's not what you think. I was just making sure you weren't mistreating them." I half-lied, anger lacing my words. She seemed to sense my dishonesty but said nothing about it.

"Well, I just want to let you know that you're welcome anytime to see them, okay?" She kicked open the shed door and dropped the feed in an empty corner. I stacked what I had on top of that and hurried out. "Okay?" She repeated, waiting for my reply. I spun around, my heart beating quickly.

"Why are you trying to be so nice to me, huh? Do you think I'm some kind of joke? I mean, who do you think you are? You think you know me because we talk every once in a while and you buy stuff from my shop? Because let me tell you, you don't know _anything_ about me!" I snapped, my finger stabbing the air near her face. She seemed genuinely shocked at my behavior but made no move to respond. I breathed heavily as my temper dissipated. She seemed to be waiting for me to calm down, crossing her arms. I felt my posture soften and an odd sort of fear crept into my bones. _She didn't care. She was unphased by my sarcasm and my temper. I was used to people running away from me after an outburst like that. _

"You done being a big diaper-baby?" She asked quietly. I nodded silently, mostly angry at her for being indifferent. "Okay." She took a deep breath in. "Look. I like you. You seem like good people underneath all of..." She gestured to all of me. _"That..._I don't know if you realize, but I'm practically your only friend here-Not that you care about friends, _obviously._" She paused to make sure I was listening. "Your stupid defense mechanisms don't work on me. I see right though them, you know." I blanched. " And...You know...You were one of the few people who really seemed okay with me right off the start. I know you noticed I was...Different...But you never _said_ anything, and either out of respect or apathy, chose not to comment. Even if I did get the vibe that you didn't think I belonged here. And...I noticed you're a hermit at the ripe old age of 23, so I thought hey: let's be cool with this guy that understands the necessity of solitude."

"Why?" I choked out, my face blushing with embarrassment.

"...I may be friendly and super charismatic, but when it comes right down to it I like nothing more than to just sit down and drink some tea and have quiet time. I thought you might appreciate that too; a friend who's okay with just sitting silently enjoying your company." She watched my face for a change of expression. "But I guess not." Her lips pursed. "_Excuse me_ for being civil." She sniffed, a sense of finality piercing the air.

"I don't need friends." I grumbled quietly, feeling a little guilty about snapping at her.

"Of course you don't. Nobody does. But it sure is nice to have someone to talk to. When you stop being such a nozzle, come talk to me. We can hang out, be mad at the world together, talk crap about the other people in town, whatever. In the meantime, go away. I don't want your grumpiness to rub off on me." She shooed me away. Feeling a little embarrassed, I complied and began my sprint down the path back into the village.


	2. Chapter 2

There was a new guy at the big ranch I worked at. I had been working for this place since I was old enough to even have a job, so while I wasn't very social, I knew everyone working there. He was definitely new. I had never seen his face before, and it was pretty recognizable. Cheery, you know?

The ranch I worked for was a big compound that many other animal dealers worked for as well, some from far away places. I knew a guy named Vaughn who had to go through the city and take a boat-ride just to get here. I heard he was newly married. Never thought he would settle down, a grumpy-looking guy like him. The point is, I was lucky I only had to walk a few miles to get there. Apparently this new guy had the same luxury, but from the other way.

"Hey. I hear from the other guys that your name is Neil? I'm Rod, it's nice to meet you." He smiled, his hand extended towards me. I ignored the gesture.

"Yeah, hi." I blinked. Cheery. Too cheery for my taste. I saw his hand lower and his smile falter at the edges.

"A-anyway, I'm not really in your division per se, but I figured it'd be nice to introduce myself."

"Oh yeah? Great." I crossed my arms.

"Uh, yeah." He shifted uncomfortably under my heavy gaze. His hand went to the back of his neck. "...Well, it was nice meeting you, Neil. I'm over at where they keep the domestic animals and horses. We seem to be the youngest guys here, so if you ever want to hang out or whatever, I'd be cool with that."

"Sure. See you." He seemed a little offended at my cold demeanor and scampered away. Good.

I did my best to avoid him after that, but he always managed to find me every time I was turning in paperwork to the main office, which was usually three to four times a week. I hated to admit it, but his persistence was something I started to admire. He didn't seem to care that I usually responded callously to him. He was too eager or distracted to really seem to notice, and I guess his demeanor started to rub off on me.

He seemed to notice that I was pretty uncomfortable talking to people, so instead of just talking 'at-me', he asked me simple questions. I appreciated it. He asked me things like 'What kind of town are you from? Do you have a family?' etc. it was kinda nice to have someone to talk to sometimes without feeling totally drained from the experience. Eventually I sort of even welcomed his company.

* * *

><p>As the summer heat dissipated and fall seemed to be on it's way, we grew to be acquaintances.<p>

One day, as I was turning in my numbers sheet, he ran up to me. He was out of breath, so it took him a few tries, but he managed to pant out:

"Letter!"

"Letter? What are you talking about?" I furrowed my brow in confusion.

"I...I got a letter...From Echo Village...About..." He wheezed, putting his hands on his knees.

"What the heck Rod, did you run all the way here?" I folded my arms, giving him a look of the judging sort.

"Y-yeah, I was super stoked about this letter because..." He took a deep breath in. "I got it from Dunhill, your guy's mayor-type-person, I guess. He says he's looking for someone to open up a pet shop in your town and that I'd be the perfect guy! Some person is building me a cottage as we speak! So_ of course_ I took the offer. We're going to be neighbors!" He yelled enthusiastically, weakly giving me double thumbs up. I blanched.

"Neighbors?"

"Aren't you excited? We can work side by side even! That would be _so_ cool."

"I guess." I felt myself clamming up. I was just getting used to this guy being a friend; I didn't know if I could handle him as a neighbor.

"Cool thing is, I heard my buddy Allen lives there too. He's a childhood friend. He's the guy who owns the salon in town." Oh, that guy.

"Allen? We don't talk." I grumbled. He noticed my distaste for him immediately. He looked like he's seen it many times in reference to his childhood friend.

"Yeah, he's a jerk, I know. But it gets better once you realize his comments don't come from a place of malice." He shrugged. "Anyways, I'm pretty excited about this."

"Didn't you _just_ move? Why would you be so willing to uproot everything all over again?"

"Are you kidding!? Moving is such an awesome adventure! Sure it's a lot of work, but everything in life worth doing is. Besides, it's not like I'm moving super far away. I can't wait to meet a bunch of new people! Oh, say, are there any cute girls in town?" He elbowed me playfully in the ribs. I pursed my lips.

"Uh, I wouldn't really know." I admitted. His face went pink.

"Oh, wow Neil, Sorry, I guess I didn't realize that you were into guys-" He stepped a little ways from me, obviously trying to separate himself from his embarrassment.

"No! No no no. I'm not into guys!" I felt my face heat up. "Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just...I'm...I'm not into anyone, really." I blushed. I hadn't really told anyone this intimate secret, and here I was telling it to this guy I hardly knew.

"Not anyone?"

"Nope."

"Never?"

"No."

"Wow. That's crazy. I don't know how that works to be honest, but I can respect that though." He smiled at me, and I did my best not to flinch as he slapped my shoulder. "More ladies for me, I guess." His smile turned into a grin.

* * *

><p>Within the next week, he was all moved in. It was a Saturday by then, which meant no work, but of course I was woken up really early in the morning yet again.<p>

"What do you wa-!?" I jerked the door open, only to see a smiling Rod on my doorstep.

"Howdy neighbor! Good morning!" He beamed. I sighed.

"Oh. It's just you. Hi."

"Aww come on, I know you're not a morning person-" His tone was far too jovial for this early in the morning.

"-I am too a morning person." I grumbled. "Just as long as everyone stays away from me."

"Yeah, but that's what you want all the time; not just mornings."

"Well, maybe if people would stop waking me up before the sun even comes up maybe I could-"

"Whatever, man! Anyways, I came to ask if you would come with me to meet the person who built my awesome house!"

"Oh, that would be Alice. She lives south of here, so just follow the path down and leave me alone-" I tried shutting my door, but he kicked his leg out to stop me. Why did everyone do that!? Rude.

" Nooooo. Come with meeeee." He whined. I rolled my eyes at his childishness. When I realized he wasn't going to just leave, I got dressed and threw my jacket on.

"Hurry up then." I huffed, slamming the door behind me and briskly walking towards the direction of Alice's farm.

"Yay!" Rod cheered, clapping. "I'm so excited to meet her! Is she nice? Is she cute? Oh right you-"

"-Y'know, I _can_ tell if someone is aesthetically attractive or not..." I mumbled, half-hoping he wouldn't hear me.

"Oh? Soooo...Is this Alice-girl cute?" He pulled on my jacket and forced me to stop. He actually seemed pretty anxious, now that I was more awake.

"Why do you care, anyways? I mean, is that why you're dragging me along with you?" I dodged the question skillfully.

"Well..." Suddenly Rod's face softened. "I...I just get nervous around pretty girls and I didn't want to make a fool of myself, you know? I firmly believe that you should make the best first impression ever, because the person you meet could be your new best friend or soulmate. Maybe both." I blanched as his sentimentality. I thought back to every first impression I ever made and hoped I didn't accidentally ruin my chances at happiness.

Then I remembered that I didn't actually care about stuff like that and came back to my senses.

"That's a lot of stock to put into something so trivial-"

"No way! First impressions are _everything._" I watched his expression turn serious. Our eyes met for a few uncomfortable beats before I grimaced.

"I've found they're often wrong." I shook him off my arm and started the trek down the path once more. "You see, I make it my point to be an..._Optimistic pessimist, _I guess. Like... Everything is terrible, everyone sucks. I am either pleasantly surprised or disappointed and right..." This seemed to strike a chord in Rod, but he didn't say anything. We had gone down the path quite a long distance before I noticed his face, marred by anxiety. "...If you're really_ that_ worried about it, I guess the least I can do is prepare you for what's ahead. As your...Friend." I swallowed hard at the term.

"Really? Thanks." I could hear the genuine gratitude in Rod's voice. I think that was the one thing I really valued about him; he was _always_ genuine and honest, as if he couldn't possibly be anything but.

"Alice and I haven't spoken much..." I could feel the ghosts of emotions that fled through my mind the last time we talked. "But what I do know is...She's...Different. She's _definitely_ not what you're picturing in your head right now. She's..." I searched my head for the correct words to describe this woman I hardly knew anything about. "She's eccentric and a little brash, but I get the feeling...That she means well. And if there is one definite thing I know about her, is that through all her flashiness she is a gentle person." I paused to look at him. He seemed to be expecting something else. "Oh, and..." I took a deep breath, rolled my eyes, and managed to quickly say the last part. "I guess she's pretty or whatever..." He nodded, his eyes wide and bewildered.

"She sounds intimidating. So, you know all this about a girl you haven't spoken with much?"

"...I kinda just get these feelings from her, you know? I mean, she buys livestock from me so I make it my business to know this kinda stuff." I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at him. "_Why?_"

"No reason." I could tell he was trying to hide a smile. "Oh look, there's the farm!" He raced to the door like an excited child but hesitated to knock until I was beside him. "...Do you think she'll like me?" He whispered, his face turning pink.

"...Probably." I shrugged. He seemed a little dissatisfied with my vague answer and shrunk back behind me.

"One moment!" The voice from behind the door called out.

"It's Neil." I called back out. I heard something from inside crash, like dishes in a sink. When she opened the door she seemed pretty flustered.

"I was just finishing up breakfast and had to get dressed. Why are you here so early? Did your weird animal related spidey-senses tingle? I mean, I literally _just_ put an egg in the incubator last night so I know that a chick can't be hatched yet-" She stopped and finally noticed the shrinking violet of a man nervously cowering behind me. "Who's this?" I heard him clear his throat.

"Uh, I'm Rod. Meet to nice you. I mean, nice to meet you." He laughed nervously. She found his mix up absolutely hilarious. She grinned at him wildly.

"I'm Alice." She held her hand out and he shook it.

"I uh, understand that you built my new house? It's great! I really appreciate it. It's nice and cozy. ...Um...Are you a carpenter as well as a farmer?" I suddenly felt a little awkward to be present. Like an unwanted third wheel. I took a step back from their conversation.

"Nope! But I was a tomboy and my dad taught me _tons_ of stuff. I figure if a zombie apocalypse happened, I'd be totally set, especially now that I own a farm."

"Cool." He kneaded his hands. "Uh, well I'm opening a pet shop in the plaza, so if you ever want a cute pet just come and see me." His face seemed to whiten at the mention of zombies, but it also could have been the nervousness. "W-well it was really nice meeting you, Alice. Um, I have to go, so talk to you later." He turned on his heel and practically ran off her property. She watched him go and when he was out of sight turned to me.

"...So what's with that guy?" She snorted, pushing her thumb in the direction that he ran off to.

"Lots of stuff. And, you know...He's probably going to ask what _I_ think _you_ think of him, so instead of guessing I'll just ask." I said in a monotone voice.

"...He's weak and won't survive the winter." She whispered, staring off into space. Her face broke out into another one of her freakish grins. "Nah, just kidding. He seems sweet and adorable, like I want to dip him in tea and just eat him right up."

"Okay, either I'm missing some sort of sexual metaphor or I should probably alert the authorities that you're a cannibal." I smirked, and she seemed to get a kick out of that.

"Neither. I meant like, he's cute. Definitely the sensitive type. But he's _way_ too happy. I can just tell-"

"-It's his face." We said in unison. She leaned against her door frame and crossed her arms.

"Yeah, exactly."

"Yeah..." This was starting to feel uncomfortable. Were we bonding? Gross. She cleared her throat.

"Anyway, he seemed really intimidated by me. I don't like men who are scared of me, if that's what you're asking. It's super weird. Well! I got a busy day ahead of me so I'll see you later, okay?" She stood up straight. "I'm glad you found a friend, even if he's totally the opposite of you. Maybe you and I can hang out sometime, too, since you_ finally _decided to stop being a butt and can stand to be around me for more than five seconds without making a rude comment." Instead of taking offense to it like I knew I should, I decided to take it as a backhanded compliment.

"...Fine, I guess. See you around, Alice." I shrugged, then made my way back home to get a late start on the day. At least I was already dressed.


	3. Chapter 3

I heard Rod clear his throat as I smoothed the checkered table cloth over my shop counter. His shop was already all set up, but he had waited for me to finish before he spoke. I had avoided him for the past two days, knowing he would want to talk about Alice; although I felt kind of bad when I saw how anxious he was this morning as we made our way to work. I was a little surprised he waited _this_ long to ask, to be honest.

"Uh, so I made a fool of myself on Saturday, didn't I?" I delayed my answer, hoping he would catch the hint. He didn't. "Did I?"

"...Well, she thinks you're nice..." I offered. "And uh, well... She thinks you're quote: 'adorable.'" This seemed to satisfy him.

"Really? Heh, cool. I guess I didn't do so bad. Gosh, but she just made me so _nervous._" He chuckled. "You're lucky you don't get so hung up on stuff like that."

"I guess." I sighed. "Although you're only one of the few who thinks that. A _lot_ of other people, including my folks, think I'm broken." I shrugged. This used to be a touchy topic, but living on my own for the last five years lessened the sting.

"Wow, really? I dunno, I think _not_ liking anyone would have made high school way easier for me. There was this girl I liked-" Oh great. Story time. "-And she was one of the really popular girls. We hung out, but she was into big jock-type guys. I was more into track and stuff. She was nice, but it wasn't meant to be. I was so strung out on her though for the longest time..."

"That's great." I mumbled, leaning heavily against the counter. "High school for me wasn't great either, but..." I shook my head. "Actually, I don't want to talk about it."

"Was it bad?"

"...Well. It's wasn't great. I don't want to talk about it though."

"...Did it have to do with you not liking anyone and your parents?"

"Mostly." I shrugged. "Look, Rod. You're kind of...The only person in town who knows..._That_ about me. I know it's kind of stupid and it's not entirely a secret, but I'd appreciate it if you don't mention it so much."

"Oh, sorry." An uncomfortable silence washed over us. "Hey, Neil?"

"What is it _now_?" I huffed.

"...I don't think you're broken." He smiled gently at me.

"...Thanks."

* * *

><p>It was close to closing time when I saw Alice skipping up the path. She was wearing shiny leggings, a black tutu, and a long sleeved t-shirt with some band's logo printed across the chest. I turned to look at Rod, who suddenly stiffened and went white. I rolled my eyes at him and went back to leaning on my counter.<p>

"Heeeey Neil. Hi...Rod, right?" She pointed, squinting her eyes at him. He nodded deftly. What a nerd. "Soooo Neil, are you almost off work? I thought you and I could catch a meal together at the restaurant. Sound good?"

"Why?" I crossed my arms.

"Why?! Uh, because I asked." She blinked rapidly, putting her hands on her hips. "So yes or no?" I was a little uncomfortable with the prospect of Alice and I alone, so I turned to look at Rod, then back to her. She seemed to understand what the look meant. "Rod can come too, if he wants."

"Sure!" Rod spoke up suddenly. "I'd love to go eat dinner with you." His face broke out into a grin. I shrugged.

"Fine, I guess."

"Alrighty." She placed her hands behind her back and rocked back and forth on her heels. "So, meet you there around 7:30? You're usually back around then, right?"

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Okay! See you guys!" She waved cheerfully and went on her way. Rod waited until she was out of sight before making a squeaking noise.

"The hell was that?" I leaned back on my chair.

"Ugh. She's so scary. But like, in a good way. And you know, you shouldn't have done that!"

"Done what?

"Invited me. She saw you look at me and felt like she had to invite me. Why did you do that!?"

"What? No, she knows you're my friend so-"

"She totally wanted to go out with you by herself. Like a date, probably. She totally digs you. Ugh. It's probably that coat, it's got lots of zippers on it and it's cool and-" I pulled up the collar of my jacket self-consciously. Girls did like my coat an awful lot. Not sure why.

"What do you mean? Rod, we _barely talk_. I've had _literally_ two or three actual conversations with her. I think you're just seeing things. I mean, sure, we're polite to each other if we see each other in town and she's nice to me when we do business, but that's it."

"I don't know man, I think she digs you." He pressed.

"Well too bad. Besides, shouldn't you be vying for her affections anyways? _You_ seem to like her an awful lot." I glanced down at my watch. Perfect. It was time to change the subject. "Hey, it's six. Let's start packing up."

* * *

><p>"Do you think I should go change before we meet up with Alice? I think I kinda smell like cat pee and wet dog..."<p>

"What? No. Geez. Get a hold of yourself. If you do, we'll be late. And I think you're just imagining things."

"But what if she thinks I smell gross?" His voice was verging on whiny.

"Then she'll tell you." I shrugged. "Woman is a farmer, she understands stink. You think cows smell wonderful on a hot summer day? No. Plus she _knows_ we just got out of work. Calm yourself."

"Okay..." He said sadly. He lifted up his arm and sniffed. "...Not too bad..." I heard him mutter to himself.

"We're here." I glanced over at him, and he seemed as white as a ghost. "Don't embarrass yourself." I grimaced. "She's just a girl." He nodded. I pushed open the door and scanned the tables. She was sitting in the corner, talking to Felicity. Rod and I made our way to the table. I cleared my throat to catch her attention.

"Hi guys! Glad you came. Right on time, too." She smiled. "Sit! Sit! So what's new, what's old?"

"You see me practically everyday, Alice..." I muttered.

"Yeah, but we don't get to talk much. Fine! If you don't want to go first, Rod can." She held her face and leaned on her elbows and looked expectantly at Rod, who was still white as a ghost.

"Uh, well, I'm getting used to everything here. Allen and I had a chat on Sunday about our childhoods. It was good seeing him. Um. I wandered around near the river. It's pretty." His face slowly recovered it's color. She nodded, seemingly satisfied with his answer.

"Good, good." Her arms crossed and she leaned back. "Okay, how about you Neil?"

"...Well, this strange girl keeps heckling me at work. Waving and whatnot, trying to distract me." I grumbled. "And then she invited me to dinner for no reason except because 'she asked.'" I made eye contact with her, giving her my most mirthful grin for a few moments.

"I bet she is the most gorgeous creature in the world." She sighed dreamily. I rolled my eyes. "Anything else?"

"Uh, well..." I motioned to the guy sitting next to me. "This guy moved in and likes to wake me up early in the morning."

"That was once!"

"One too many times." I gave him a small smile.

"You guys are too cute." She giggled. Rod's face went red. "I'm glad you found Neil, Rod. He was even worse than he is now. At least now he's opening up to _someone." _She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever." I grunted. "You're so weird. You don't even really know me that well."

"Of _course_ I do. You think you're the only one who observes people?" She grinned.

"Ooooooh." I barely heard Rod.

"Yeah? What do you think you know about me, then?" I challenged her, leaning back in my chair. She smirked, her eyes searching my face.

"Well...I know you're not as tough as you like to pretend to be." She mimicked my posture, giving me an expression I couldn't read.

"She's got you there." Rod whispered. It was my turn to roll my eyes.

"Yeah? Is that some sort of fantasy you've been fed by romance novels or rom-coms? The anti-social guy is _always_ secretly sensitive?" I snorted. "I thought you were more intelligent then that."

"But it's actually true, in this case. Don't be embarrassed! Why do you hide that part of you? I think it's great. It's nothing to be ashamed of, you know." She smiled, but this time it was gentle and kind instead of her usual mirthful and freakish grin. I felt my throat tighten a little as Rod looked at me expectantly.

"..." I pulled my collar up, unsure of what to say. "...My father was traditional, he didn't like the sensitivity he valued in his wife to be in his son." I muttered, bearing a small fragment of my life as if it were no big deal.

"Oh? And was your mother-?" She started, but I held my hand up to silence her.

"I don't want to talk about them. It's not something I like remembering." I grunted. She respectfully nodded. "And what about _you, _Alice?"

"Me? Oh. Well I'm an open book. As any question you want." I could sense the well-hidden nervousness laced in her voice.

"Ooh me first!" Rod chimed in. I nearly forgot he existed. "Why did you move here?" I saw her face flicker with an unknown emotion.

"Well, it's a family tradition for the first born son to take care of the farm." She shrugged. "I just wasn't born with boy parts, you know? And I'm an only child, so...I inherited it from my father after I came of age." She paused to gauge our reaction. "...My parents and I never really got along either," She gave me a look. "-So I decided just to move out and live here. It was for the best, anyways. I love it here. I love helping out the community."

"Well I for one am really glad you came here. If you didn't, I wouldn't be here." Rod gave her a grin and a thumbs up.

"This restaurant wouldn't be here either." Felicity came up to us, a notepad in hand. "So what can I get for you guys? The usual?"

"Yeah." We all agreed in unison.

"Separate tabs?"

"Yep." Alice answered for us. I could tell this made Rod uncomfortable; he opened his mouth to say something, but Alice looked around the table at us with a stern look, as if she knew we might try to protest. Felicity nodded and left to tell Clement our order.

"...Y'know Alice...I don't feel right about you paying for your own food when we're here-" Rod just couldn't help himself, could he? What a stupid boy.

"Y'know Rod," Her voice was a little harsh, "I don't care." He seemed a little surprised. "Why, is it because I'm a _girl ?_ I really do appreciate the gesture, and I do adore old fashioned manners, but I hate the implications made by them."

"And what implications are there?" Time to sit back and watch a show.

"That a guy should take care of me because I shouldn't have to do it myself...Or that I really can't because I'm a delicate little flower." She shrugged.

"Oh, I don't think that-" He furrowed his brow, mainly in confusion but partly in frustration.

"It's just implied. I mean, why else would you pay for my meal for me that doesn't have to do with my gender?"

"Because you're my friend." He answered triumphantly. It's a trap, stupid.

"Okay, so you're telling me that if it was just you and Neil here, you would offer to take up his tab?" She crossed her arms. Rod's eyes widened as he floundered for something to say. "See? It's because I'm a girl, and you didn't even realize it. That's society's problem though, not yours or any man's."

"Wow. Do all girls in the city think like that?" Rod asked, obviously hiding embarrassment.

"No. Some take it to the extreme and blame everything on guys, which is definitely not fair. Some ignore the ideas. Some perpetuate them."

"Oh."

"See, I think that's kind of why I appreciate Neil here-" She started, and I saw Rod's eyes slide to me. I straightened at the mention of my name. "He may have his own thoughts and ideas about stuff, but he treats everyone the exact same way; like crap; regardless of their individual disposition." I bit my lip to keep from interrupting her. "He was surprised at me being a girl- A _woman_ farmer, I mean; but _only_ because he no doubt heard that the usual inheritor of the farm is a guy."

"Yeah." I nodded. I vividly remembered I had stupidly said to her something about being a girl at our first meeting, as if she didn't know.

"And _maybe_ he had some dumb idea in his head that I wouldn't last long or something because I'm a city girl and ooh look at my dumb clothes, but when he realized that I _was_ sticking around, he stopped being such a jerk to me all the time."

"That's true." Rod agreed, his face still pink with embarrassment.

Just then our food arrived. For a while we all ate in silence, obviously starving after a full day's work, but then we started to make idle chit-chat again.

"-Who doesn't like chocolate cake!? Like, all I hear when you say 'I don't like chocolate cake' is that you're not human."

"I just don't. It's way too sweet. I mean chocolate by itself is bad enough, but then you have to go and put chocolate frosting on top and- Ugh! It makes my stomach churn." I admitted.

"Man, you have some major issues you have to work through." Rod joked, laughing at my expense. I shrugged.

"I don't know what the big deal is. It's just cake."

"Cake is one of the best things in life, in my opinion." Alice sipped on her drink, looking up at me through her thick eyelashes.

"Well, I don't like a lot of stuff many people consider important, I guess." The cake thing seemed to drop and we moved on with a new topic.

"...So...I'm thinking a chick will hatch soon in my incubator. I'm pretty excited." Alice spoke up.

"Wow, really!" Rod had recovered from his blunder, it seemed. "I would _love_ to see the chick after it's born! Chickens are so cute!"

"Alright, I'll let you know, and then you can come over." She grinned. "Neil, you can come too." I shrugged.

"Sure, whatever."

When it came time to leave, Rod politely asked her if we could walk her home. If it wasn't so dark and the streetlamps so far and few in between, I might have protested him speaking for me.

"If you want." We walked with her in between us. "It's pretty dark at night on this path, huh? I've never had to take this walk so late..."She muttered, mainly to herself.

"You know, if you wanted to help the town out you _could_ install more streetlamps, you know." I mumbled, staring up at the stars. She shot me a look.

"Do you realize I do _everything_ out of my own pocket? I gather _all_ the materials and I do _all_ the work! If I could, I would. If you 'free-loaders'-" She used air quotations, "-want to help me, you're_ more_ than welcome to." She sneered.

"I know! I was just kidding. Geez, don't take it so personally." I grumbled, shoving my hands into my jacket pockets. I felt my face heat up.

"Oh my dear Neil, you are terrible at jokes. Stick to sarcasm, you're far better at that." She smirked at me. Rod stifled a laugh.

"Shut up." I hissed at him. This made him actually burst out laughing. I made a frustrated noise and Alice's shoulder bumped into mine.

"Don't be such a spoil-sport, grumpy gills." She smiled. It was another one of her special smiles. "Alright guys-" She started, noticing her farmhouse coming into view. "Thanks for walking with me and hanging out today. We should do this more often." She pulled in Rod for a hug and his face went bright red. She opened her arms for me, but I held my hands up to stop her.

"I don't hug-!" She made a face and wrapped her arms around me anyways. I stood there awkwardly until she decided she was done.

"Now you do." She grimaced. "Gosh, don't be a dweeb. It's just a hug, calm down." Alice punched me in the shoulder. I made a face back at her and she smiled again. She turned on her heel and made her way down her path.

"...See you Alice!" Rod called out after her. She waved to us as she opened her door. We watched her close it behind her. The windows of the farmhouse came alive with light, illuminating the path we had to take back into town.

She was certainly different.

"...She _does_ like you, you know." Rod muttered, bumping into my shoulder to make sure I was paying attention. I frustratedly sighed.

"Rod-"

"-I know you don't care, and I know you think I'm crazy, but I hardly know her and even I can see the way she looks at you. I wish any girl would look at _me_ like that." He admitted. "You guys may not be best buddies or anything, but tonight... I felt like you guys had been friends for years. It's the way you joke and talk. Maybe she just brings that out in you, I dunno. I don't really know you too well either." We came to the first streetlamp, signaling that we had finally made it to the town's edge. He stopped under it. "...I'm not trying to put anything in your head or force you into anything, but I think that's pretty neat. _She's_ pretty neat. It seems like she's trying to understand you. She's right: You guys _should_ hang out more. You're good for each other. Maybe not romantically or whatever, but still. In the few months I've known you, I've never seen you smile as much as when you're with her. That's something."

"Rod-" I started again.

"-I know I'm not reading too much into things either so-"

"-Would you let me talk!? Goddess, you're pissing me off!" I growled, crossing my arms.

"Answer me this first before you make an excuse! Would you go out with her if she asked?" I looked up at the lamp above us. Moths were fluttering around the buzzing yellow light. They were attracted to something that they could never have, and even if they did somehow get to the bulb, it would burn them. How sad.

"Maybe, I guess." I shrugged. "But I'm not looking for a relationship right now. I'm...I'm just no good for someone else. I have a lot of stuff to work through."

"Like what? Give me one good reason why you can't be with anyone. And don't you dare say it's because you aren't attracted to anyone because that has nothing to do with it." His expression was neutral, but his voice was frustrated. "I just want you happy. I think she could make you happy."

"Why do I need someone else to make me happy?" I tried to hide the exasperation in my voice but it failed. "It won't fix me-"

"You're not broken. I already told you that I don't believe you're broken. I'm not trying to fix you."

"Then what are you trying to do?"

"Make you see how _stupid_ you're being. Didn't you say that you're the optimistic pessimist? _Do_ that then. What's the worst that could happen? Either she really isn't interested and you can be disappointed or even neutral and remain friends, or you could be pleasantly surprised. And Alice looks like the kind of girl who is full of surprises."

"I don't _like_ surprises." Rod's eyes were wide and his mouth opened and closed as if he were a fish.

"Why are you so afraid to let anyone in!?" He raised his voice. "I mean, it took me _weeks_ to get you to say hi to me. Anyone with eyes who looks at you long enough can see that you're lonely!"

"I like being alone!" I could feel my frustration quickly turning into anger. My face was hot.

"No one likes being alone. Not one single person. I think you and anyone else who thinks that just gets used to it." His eyes searched my face. "...Damn. Your home life must have really been the worst if you managed to disillusion yourself this much-"

"Don't you dare bring my parents into this!" I could feel my throat tighten and my eye sight went black around the edges. "You don't know anything about me-"

"-I wonder why!? You don't _tell _me anything." His face was pink. "Here I am, as your friend, as an eager and understanding ear, sitting in front of you _every single day_, and you choose to shut yourself off! I thought _maybe_ I could help you, but...If you can't even trust me as a friend, why bother?" His tone lowered, and his eyes downcasted.

We were silent for a few agonizing moments; just the sound of the moths hitting the buzzing streetlamp and our labored breathing.

"I can't." I said finally.

"You can't _what_?" Rod crossed his arms. "Please enlighten me."

"I _can't_ be with anyone. I don't want to hurt anybody." I looked him straight in the eye so he knew I wasn't just coming up with something on the spot. His brow furrowed.

"How do you know you'll hurt someone?"

"Because I've done it before." I shrugged, my voice threatening to crack. "I tried to go out with someone. Just the once."

"You can't base anything off something happening just once-"

"-If you want me to talk then shut up!" He was caught off guard by my outburst but nodded. "...She was pretty. A lot of other boys wanted to be with her, but we grew up together and...Well, she liked me. I tried to explain to her that while I did care about her a lot, I wasn't sure if I could give her what she wanted. She told me that maybe if we, you know, worked hard enough maybe we could get to a point where we could compromise."

"...Compromise about what? Sorry for interrupting."

"You know, being...Physical." My stomach churned. I could almost taste the bile on my tongue.

"Oh."

"...Anyways, I have this weird...Touch aversion. I guess it's pretty common with people like me. For me, it's only because I know that being open to that sort of stuff often misleads people. One touch on the shoulder leads to lingering, lingering leads to people thinking you want more intimacy. I don't want to give people the wrong idea." I took a deep breath in. "I lived in a small town, smaller than this one, even. A lot of people thought that I was some sort of freak or late bloomer, which my dad absolutely hated. He was well respected, and he didn't want me tarnishing his good name. So I buckled under pressure and I went out with her. We were friends. Now we're not."

"...What happened?" Rod's voice was small. I looked up at the moths again.

"She thought she was ugly because of me. I didn't want to touch her or kiss her or even hold her hand, really. If we were alone I was okay with holding her hand or even you know, cuddling or whatever, but after a while I sort of withdrew from her. I knew she wanted more and I just...Couldn't. I tried explaining it to her but she called me a liar and said I was just ashamed to be with her. I lost my only friend because of that." I swallowed hard, my throat dry and painfully tight. "I don't want to go through that again or put anyone else through that again. I'm better off alone."

"...I don't think she was a very good friend if she couldn't respect your boundaries." He whispered.

"That's just it. She did for a _long _time. Sometimes I felt like I owed it to her to just pretend, but I felt like that was like lying right to her face. She didn't deserve to be lied to like that. So I didn't."

"Well, Alice is from the city! There are other people like you, so maybe she can understand you better because she might know more about it then people like the town you came from. Maybe-"

"I don't like maybes. Not when I have other people's emotions at stake." I shook my head. "If I was...You know, _normal, _I probably would try to go out with her. But I'm not, so I can't." I shrugged. "It's okay."

"I don't think that's okay."

"Too bad." I started down the path once more. I heard Rod's footsteps behind me. We managed to get all the way to our houses without talking anymore. Our homes were right across from each other on the path.

"...Can't you just..._Try_?" I heard him say from across the way. " I think flat out _not_ giving her a chance might hurt her more..."

"...I don't know." I pulled my jacket around me. It was getting chilly. "I guess we'll see what happens." I reached for the doorknob.

"...So you _might_ try?" Rod's voice was full of hope. I cleared my throat. My chest hurt. It felt like I had ripped my heart out and now the wound was infected.

"I said we'll see what happens." I mumbled, turning the knob.

"...Is it weird to say I'm super excited for you even though it's only a maybe?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Well, I am. You deserve to be happy, you know."

"Sure." I flicked on the lights and headed inside.


	4. Chapter 4

**Alice's POV**

"Sooo how do you like my new dress, guys? I don't expect you to know much about fashion, but I think it's pretty legit if you ask me." I twirled in front of the two men who had paused in tearing down their shops. Neil gave me his usual unimpressed face while Rod gave me a very enthusiastic thumbs up.

"What is that, anyway?" Neil mumbled in his usual grumpy way.

"What, this? It's a dress, dummy." I grimaced.

"No, I meant what the heck is on the bottom? What are those green hands for?"

"Oh, those?" I pulled up the hem a little to get a closer look. "Those are_ clearly_ zombie hands coming up from the grave. I thought it was a nice touch to a simple a-line dress with sleeves...Perfect for Fall, you know? I had the fabric when I moved but I'm not that good at creating clothes, I'm only good at repairs. So I sent the sketch of this dress I had over to Yuri with the fabric last week and she gave it to me this morning. Nice, huh? It goes with my hair clip." I grinned, bouncing my hair. Neil's expression didn't change.

"That's great, I guess."

"Wow, rude. You're supposed to be like this:" I lowered my voice to signal I was supposed to be Neil."Oh wow, what a nice dress you got there Alice!" I turned and put my hand on my chest, resuming being myself. "Oh _thank you_ Neil! That is so very sweet of you. Wow, what a perfect gentleman!" I laughed fakely. Neil didn't think it was very funny, much to my chagrin.

"_I _think the dress looks nice, Alice." Rod spoke up, his hand going to the back of his head. It was his nervous tick.

"Why thank you, Rod." I put my hand on my cheek and batted my eyelashes at him jokingly. "But yeah, I think it looks great. Something nice to wear when I'm not working." I smiled.

"Looks like you could go out in a dress like that. Have anywhere in mind?" The pet shop owner smiled at me. The two men had resumed their work and had most of their stuff packed up. Was he trying to flirt with me?

"Well, that's why I'm over here. I thought we could go out again to dinner. Maybe make a habit of it, you know? Celebrating the end of the work week and what not. What do you think?" I looked at the two expectantly. Rod seemed to share my enthusiasm but his expression changed suddenly. I saw them exchange a look and Rod began to stretch in a showy way.

"Uhhh...Wow, actually, Alice..." Rod stifled an exaggerated yawn and my heart sank. "I'm totally beat today. It was a rough day today, you know? I'd like to turn in early tonight. However, making this a weekly thing is an _excellent_ idea. Maybe I'll come next week. You and Neil can go by yourselves today, though. Don't let a party-pooper like me spoil the fun!"

"Yeah I bet playing with puppies all day long is such a difficult job." I muttered. Neil seemed to share my thought because he smirked a little.

"You know I'm tired too-" Neil started.

"-Nope!" Rod interjected quickly. "No you're _not_. You have to go. You can't leave Alice hanging like that. Plus she's all dressed up!" Rod loaded his table up onto his carriage, his strength suddenly back. They exchanged another odd look and Neil sighed.

"Okay, sure. You're right."

"Gee don't be so excited about it. Are you sure you_ really _want to go? You don't have to." He nodded deftly and I clapped my hands together. "Awesome! Since he's not coming with us this time, we can totally talk about Rod behind his back because he's a loser who has to go to bed early!" I laughed. Neil's smirk widened into a small smile.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Rod whined.

* * *

><p>"...Thanks for coming, Neil. I know you aren't super fond of me and probably just tolerate me more out of respect for Rod, but-"<p>

"Out of respect for Rod?" What do you mean?" His hands were stuck in his jacket pockets, even at the table.

"Well, I know Rod has this tiny crush on me that, you know, I think is sorta adorable. And you guys are friends. I figured that you usually tag along only because Rod wants you to." I peeked at his expression, which was cold as usual. I sighed in defeat. "...You don't like me too much, do you? I mean, if we hang out I always have to come to you first."

"If I didn't want to come I wouldn't have come." He stated simply, a hint of irritation marring his boyish voice. "I don't really owe anything to Rod." His ruby eyes carefully watched my expression. "I don't do anything I don't want to do, ever. Maybe I don't _like_ doing certain things, but I only do them if I really have to."

"...Do you feel like you _have _to hang out with me?" His face flickered to a different and unrecognizable emotion for a second.

"No."

"Oh." I tried to hide my smile behind my hands. "You know, I knew I liked you from the very beginning."

"What?" His face went pink. "You really didn't have a choice, did you? For a while there we were two people in a town of only like, five." His eyes went to the floor. "Don't say such embarrassing things..."

"You're such a girl!" I laughed. "I'm just trying to say that I'm happy we're friends. You're not the only one with a sad sob fest of a back story, you know."

"Oh?" He leaned back in his chair.

"...Let's make this a game." I smirked. " I tell you a little about mine and you tell me a little about yours. How's that sound to you?"

"That...Doesn't sound like fun."

"C'mon. We've established that we're friends, right? I won't tell anybody what you say at this table if you won't tell them stuff about me. Pretty please?" He looked up at the ceiling for a few moments before scanning the empty restaurant with his eyes. Neil chewed on his lip before looking at me again.

"...Okay, fine. But don't push me to talk about stuff I don't want to."

"That's fair. I'll go first, if you want. Ask me anything."

"Hm. Okay. How did your parents deal with..." He gestured to all of me. "This? I mean, the way you dress." I sucked in air and let it out slowly.

"Getting right into it, huh? Alright. I like that. So...My parents really uh, hated...This." I gestured to my clothes. "They were mostly worried about me getting bullied; which I _was_, unfortunately; and also me ending up alone. They were afraid that I was into bad things with the wrong people too. Like meth and satanists or whatever." I shrugged. "But I was a straight A student and...To be honest, I never had many friends."

"No?"

"Nope. I had uh...Teachers sign my senior yearbook. I mean sure, I had some shaky relationships with boys who thought of me only as their cool girl best friend and my fair share of creeps who though just because I had y'know, dreadlocks back in the day and wore latex pants that I was into kinky stuff and one-night stands..."

"Really?" His lips pursed. "That's stupid."

"Tell me about it." I grinned, trying not to bear my emotions on my face. He was watching me very carefully and I didn't want to give myself away so easily. "I never went out with guys like that, though. They didn't want anything substantial, only to have something to talk about with their stupid jock friends; as if you get an award and pat on the back for laying with the creepy goth girl as a charity case. I had a lot of guys who legitimately digged me, you know, _physically,_ but didn't want to fall out of grace with their friends. I don't need a guy who thinks of me as a piece of meat or a trophy, though. I guess my parent's fears of me ending up alone was pretty legit."

"I don't think you're creepy, for what it's worth. You're just different." He shrugged. It was such a simple statement, but it honestly meant the world to me.

"Hey, thanks." I smiled at him. "Alright, my turn. Tell me about your mom." His face went white. "Don't chicken out on me!"

"Fine, fine. Her name is Gwen."

"That's it? That's all you're going to tell me?"

"Uh, well she married my dad at a pretty young age. They met when she was eighteen and living at her grandpa Woody's house. He was a carpenter. My dad's name is Pete, but everyone called him Jack for some reason. I guess he saved our town from turning into a theme park with my mom."

"Wow! That's cool!" Neil shrugged at my excitement.

"I guess. They found an endangered species of weasel living in the forest or something and our town was protected as a nature preserve. My dad gets all the credit, but honestly it was my mom who came up with the idea...She would spend hours just cataloging the animals and plants she saw, and she was the one who saw the weasel first. My dad just managed to lure it out and snap a picture of it. My mom is the true hero of that story."

"...So you got your love of animals from her?"

"Well, mostly. My dad introduced me to livestock since he owned a farm, too. I can't really give her all the credit for that. I sorta..." He hesitated for a moment. "I sorta fell in love with taking care of the cows and chickens. It became my job when I was young. I'd like to say my father and I bonded over that, but he sorta treated everything like it was business. He started breeding them and just selling them, like they weren't a part of our family or something. My mom tried to comfort me when he sold my favorite cow, but he wouldn't let her. From then on I made it a point to tell him I was leaving home the first chance I got."

"So what happened?

"Well, there was a guy in town that my dad bought livestock from. His name was Bob. Well, by the time I was thirteen I applied for a part time job with him, which put me into contact with the ranch I work for today. As soon as I was sixteen I left home and finished up school elsewhere. I lived by myself since then. I write to my mom occasionally, but I told her I don't want to ever hear anything about my dad. He's dead to me."

"Wow." I whispered.

"Sometimes I think about how he's doing, you know? Now that I'm older, I mean. But it's no use. If I went back there, I'm sure he would shun me. Mom would be happy to see me, I'm sure. But if I go and see her, I'd have to see him."

"That's rough, Neil." I reached across the table and patted his shoulder sympathetically. He flinched slightly at my touch but I didn't let it bother me.

"...It feels kinda good to get that off my chest." He smiled a little at me. "Is it my turn?"

"Sure, go ahead."

'Alright, let me think of a good one...So you've never had a boyfriend before?"

"Uh nope. Why, are you interested?" I waggled my eyebrows at him. His face turned bright red and I laughed. "Such a girl! No, but honestly, I haven't. Like I said, I only attracted weirdos and gum-wads." He looked at me peculiarly.

"You know, for someone who claims to be a feminist, you sure do use the phrase 'such a girl' often. Isn't that like, counter-productive?"

"...Yeah, it's a bad force of habit. My sort-of guy friends would say that a lot. Blame the patriarchy or something. I know it's a cop out, but I'm working on it. Changing society starts by changing yourself, you know?" I shrugged. "Are you trying to change the subject? It's my turn." He gave me a smirk.

"You're starting to catch on."

"Okay, so what about _your_ love life?" His face went white again.

"I don't feel comfortable discussing that."

"Oh come on, you can tell me."

"No." He shifted uncomfortably, which only made my desire to know even worse. I decided to try just once more.

"..Please?"

"I said no!" He shouted. His face suddenly went red with embarrassment and his eyes widened in surprise. "S-sorry, I just-"

"Uh, n-no it's cool." I looked down at the table cloth, my own embarrassment pooling in my cheeks. "I'm sorry, I said I wouldn't push you and I did, didn't I?" I traced the squares of the checker-board pattern with my fingertip, feeling like a child who had just gotten scolded. "It's my fault, sorry." I was so beside myself with embarrassment that I had half a mind to just get up and leave – but I knew that would make things worse. We had to leave on a good note.

"...It's just not a good subject. I don't like to think about it."  
>"That bad, huh? It can't be worse than me being constantly asked how much I cost for the night or being perpetually alone." I tried giving him a small smile. His eyes were watching my finger tracing the pattern of the table cloth.<p>

"...Well, maybe not, but it's still not something I like to bring up."

"...I'm not trying to push you or anything, but you can tell me. I won't make fun of you or anything." My voice was small. I was surprised he heard me at all.

"...Promise?" The way his voice sounded and they way he looked at me made me blush for a different reason. He seemed so genuine and all of his rough edges had been smoothed over for a moment.

"I promise." I held my hand up. "Scout's honor."

"...I don't know..." He took a moment to stare at the ceiling before he let out a big sigh. "Well, okay."

"Really?" I felt my mouth twitch up into a smile.

"Don't sound so pleased with yourself." He mumbled. "I guess it couldn't hurt to tell you, even though I don't owe you an explanation or anything." He leaned forward in his chair and his voice went into an almost-whisper.

"Couldn't hurt." I shook my head, agreeing with him.

"...My dating history is pretty uh, sparse."

"'Cuz you were working since you were young?"

"No, not really."

"Oh." I said quietly. He hesitated to go on further, but he managed to continue.

"Well, it's not exactly a secret, but I don't make a point in telling people this, so...Well...I'm not...You know...Really attracted to..." His voice dipped lower. "I'm not really attracted to anybody. Never have been, boy or girl."

"No one?"

"No."

"Oh, well that's not _so_ bad." He leaned back in his chair, a sense of heaviness emitted from him and I realized that may have been the wrong thing to say.

"No? What about when your dad calls you broken? What about your poor mother worrying that you have a hormone imbalance or that you need to talk to a therapist? What about your Uncle Joe telling you that you just need to find the right girl and everything will just click into place, but it never does?" His eyes became glassy. "_Goddess_, the only person who understood me even the slightest bit was my Uncle Kurt, and here he and Uncle Joe weren't even related to my mom, let alone each other. But they were like family to us and..." He shook his head and found his train of thought again. "My Uncle Kurt. He understood. He was the only one who listened to me, who told me that I was fine just the way I was. He introduced me to angry music so I could let some steam off. He taught me how to play the bass guitar. He helped me be who I am today. So yeah, it _was_ that bad. Don't invalidate my whole childhood just because you think not liking anyone isn't 'that bad.' Because for me, it was." I felt as choked up as he looked.

"I didn't mean to offend you." His eyes went to the ceiling again, still glassy. His breathing slowed until finally his chest rose and fell shallowly. This was not going the way I thought it would. I kept offending him and I felt absolutely awful.

"It's okay. It seems like I constantly snap at you even though I know you don't mean anything malicious." Our eyes locked, but I forced myself to look away. He was so vulnerable right now, and it made me uncomfortable. "Sorry." He added quietly.

"I think the game is over for today." I muttered. He made a noise, but I wasn't sure what it was meant to convey. Frustration? Relief?

"...I'm really am though. Sorry, I mean."

"For what?"

"I don't know, for everything." He shrugged. If it came from anyone else, I would have mistook it for uncaring. His eyes scanned the room, now spotted with diners. "It's not fair, what happened to us. I just can't help but feel that it was meant for us to come here, to this town, though. And it wouldn't have happened if we would have dodged all the bad stuff." His voice was low and his tone was hard to read.

"I feel ya. I mean, I get what you're saying." His eyes found mine again and I made sure not to look away this time.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

* * *

><p><strong>Neil's POV<strong>

"So, how was yesterday?" Rod gave me a cheeky grin, leaning backwards on my kitchen table. I rolled my eyes.

"It was alright. At least, I think so."

"...What did you guys uh, talk about?" Rod definitely was not a smooth talker.

"Uh, you know. Stuff." I shrugged. "...Some stuff about our past." I winced as soon as it came out of my mouth. Here we go. Rod straightened.

"Really!? Good!" I chewed on my lip and shrugged once more.

"I guess..."

"Doesn't it feel _good_ to just...Get all that stuff off your back? I _thought_ you seemed a little less gloomy today." He smiled brightly.

"-Well of course, I got to _sleep in_ before someone decided to visit me." I smirked.

"Well you've made it clear you hate being woken up." He shrugged. We were silent for some time before I finally voiced what was on my mind.

"...I don't know. I'm just afraid that Alice will take this the wrong way, you know?" I turned away from my friend and began making us something to eat for lunch. "...You were right, you know."

"I was right...About what?"

"...She _is_ pretty great. I kinda shut myself off to her without realizing it." I answered monotonely, hoping he wouldn't hear how hard it was for me to admit that to him. I heard him exaggeratedly gasp.

"You think I'm _right_ about something!? It's the end of the world as we know it!" He laughed his jovial, scratchy laugh and leaned heavily against my table again. "Don't let that spook you, though. If there's anything I know about you, it's that you're easily persuaded into your own negative thoughts."

"Oh yeah?" I scoffed at him. He was right, though.

It was a little unnerving, having this man know so little and yet so much about me. It was the same when I was with Alice. I never let anyone in, and it felt like when I let my guard down just the once it made my whole fortress collapse. I couldn't tell if it that was a good or bad thing yet. It didn't seem to do any damage. Not yet, anyway.

"This is good, alright?" Rod was suddenly behind me, patting my back. It was like he could read my mind. "Nothing bad can come of this. And...Maybe I don't know about your past, but I do know that you can only go up from where you've been, right?"

"Right."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:**_Just in case you don't really know, Neil is supposed to be asexual. _

* * *

><p><strong>Neil's POV<strong>

It seemed like Fall had only just begun when the first signs of Winter approached. We actually _did_ keep our promise to meet up at the diner at least once a week. It was something I even started to look forward to. Rod was consistently amazed at the work Alice did, I always had something sarcastic to say, and she was always laughing.

I like her laugh. It's genuine. Hearty. It has life to it. It's the kind of laugh that haunts you in the middle of the night, echoing off the walls of your skull. It's the sort of laugh that went as fast as it came.

I found myself _trying_ to make her laugh. At first I told myself it was all just because I was trying to boost my own self-esteem, but then I finally accepted it was really because I liked seeing her laugh. She _deserved_ to laugh. She worked too hard. Even when the first snow came, she still worked outside. Still foraged in the forest, still built buildings in the bitter cold. A hypochondriac named Soseki joined our village ranks, as well as a magician named Michelle. She felt fake to me, like she was hiding something sinister under all the bubble-gum pink. Hana's (hideous) husband came back into town as well.

The point is it seemed like if Alice wasn't out greeting neighbors or hanging out with us, she was stretching herself thin working. Like she didn't want to disappoint anyone by taking a break. Rod voiced this concern to her more than once but she dismissed it entirely.

"So tell me what you do everyday, then?" Rod crossed his arms. It was a particularly cold Thursday at the diner.

"Like in order, or something?" She was smiling but her eyes weren't into it.

"Yeah."

"Well alright. It's nothing too exciting. Let's see...I wake up at six." She began counting the things off on her fingers. "I eat some breakfast and get dressed in work clothes, then I tend to my livestock, gather fodder from the fields, process the products and package them...Then I go off to my fields and water all my crops. I fertilize the ones I'm keeping for seeds, harvest anything that needs to be harvested...Then I'm off to the mines. I mine all I can then I go back home in time for lunch. I eat a little something and get a shower in...Then I change into regular clothes and try to catch everyone at least once and say hello...Then I go into the forest and gather supplies or whatever. Then I come home and ship everything off I don't need and store everything else away. Dinner time, then bed." She shrugged.

"That's a lot." I muttered.

"I could be doing more. I skipped the bees and I also didn't include when I work on houses and stuff."

"That's too much, you know. Maybe you should alternate some of that stuff when you can. Like maybe some days do the mine and others going into the forest, you know? Aren't you completely exhausted after doing all that stuff?" Rod put an elbow on the table and leaned his head in his hand.

"Well, I used to get tired. I'm pretty used to it now, though. Besides, I _can't_ alternate. I feel like if I miss something one day it'll be gone the next, you know? I'm not the only one who uses the mines or forages. What if I miss out on something I really need?"

"You sound like a hoarder." I leaned back in my chair. She shook her head at us in disbelief.

"I know you guys do like zip compared to me, but I bet running a shop is tough too."

"I literally sit all day and play with puppies." Rod deadpanned. "I mean, sure I get customers but I don't have to really convince them to buy a pet. They already want one, that's why they're coming to my shop. And the rest of the things I sell are necessities. Sure it's tedious to set up and pack up, but it's not _that _bad. It's nowhere _near_ what you do."

"It's true." I offered. "Even transporting ornery livestock isn't as bad as doing all the stuff you do."

"Whatever. It's not a big deal. I'm not some sort of _workaholic_ or anything." She waved us off as she took a drink of her hot chocolate. "Besides, it lets me appreciate having our weekly meetings."

"I don't know, I just think that winter should be a time for rest, you know?" Rod muttered. "It's cold. People get nicer, the days get shorter. It's good to just relax."

"There's no time like the present, Rod. If you slack off even a little bit, you'll suffer for it later. I learned that in high school." Alice leaned forward towards the pet shop owner.

"High school isn't forever, thank the Harvest God, but life is. Well, it lasts way longer, I guess." He rebuked.

"Are you seriously trying to argue with me?" She leaned back again, her painted eyebrows raised. "Because it's not going to change my mind. I'll rest when I'm an old lady, or better yet: when I'm dead."

"Taking a break once in a while isn't the end of the world." I interjected. Her head whipped around to meet my steady gaze.

"You're in on it too!? Gosh you guys are hopeless. Don't worry about me, okay?" She held her hands up in a surrendering gesture. "I appreciate you guys caring so much about my health, but I'm a big girl. If I need to cut back...I'll cut back."

"Fine, whatever." Rod shook his head. "If you need any help though, don't be too proud to ask. Neil and I can come to the rescue or whatever."

"Thanks." She sighed. "Oh hey, did you meet that Soskei guy yet? He just moved in last week."

"Why?" Rod and I asked in unison.

"He always talks about his age like he's ninety years old or something. It's okay if like, I dunno, Hana does it because she _actually is_ a cute old lady, but he's only like, in his thirties. And he always thinks he's terminally sick or whatever. Like, what's up with that?"

"I don't know. I heard he's some hot-shot writer though." Rod shrugged.

"I've only met him once, when he first came into town." I grimaced. "You know who freaks me out? Michelle. She seems so sinister."

"I know, right!?" Alice nodded excitedly. "Y'know, I was never a fan of pink. I just thought the amount of pink she wore was it, but you're _absolutely_ right!"

"I-I dunno, I think she's nice..." Rod muttered under his breath. We both looked at him. "She's pretty and interesting, you know?" He looked at our dubious expressions and furrowed his brow. "Well...How many magicians do _you_ know?"

"Wait a minute, do you have the hots for Ms. Pinky Pie the magician?" Alice snorted.

"Gross." I snickered.

"Don't jump to conclusions like that, geez. I dunno, I just think she's nice. She always seems happy and excited."

"It's probably an act..." Alice muttered, twirling her spoon around her fingers. " I don't think someone can honestly be _that_ bubbly 100% of the time. It's just not natural. She must be like, a demon. Or maybe...Even an _alien_." Alice waggled her fingers at Rod. I whistled the first few notes from The X Files theme and Alice hi-fived me.

"She's _not_ an alien, don't say that." Rod crossed his arms. "That's not very nice."

"Well _I'm_ not very nice, so I don't care." She grinned mirthfully. "I just say what's on my mind."

"He's just mad because he likes her." I smirked. His face was getting red from frustration and embarrassment.

"Whatever you guys. Let's change the topic." He grunted.

We chatted away about familiar things until we realized it was getting late and decided to head home. Alice_ did_ put some lights up on her path towards home, but Rod and I made it a point to always walk her home anyways. It was almost a routine, and to break it would have felt off.

* * *

><p>The next afternoon there was a knock at my door. It was snowing big heavy flakes outside, so I had been relaxing, just listening to some music with my headphones. The person was lucky I had even heard the knock in between tracks. Only two people would visit me on a Friday afternoon, especially one that was snowy like this one. I guessed it was <em>probably<em> Rod because he was the only one who actually visited, but I was wrong.

When I opened the door, there was Alice; clad in her favorite black coat and red gloves and knit hat. Her white pants would have blended in to the snowy landscape if they hadn't also had vertical black stripes on them. Her cheeks and nose were rosy from the cold, and I thought she looked almost like a child.

"You gunna let me in? It's freezing!" She chattered, her hands rubbing up and down her arms. I stepped aside and watched her walk in. I shut the door behind us as she began taking off her coat and things. "I can't do_ anything _today, it sucks. It's way too cold to go up the mountain, and the mine won't be any better. I feel so out of synch."

"So why are you _here ?" _I took her coat and hung it up next to mine. I knew she noticed that I wasn't wearing my trademark red jacket, but she didn't say anything.

"Figured I'd visit. You know, I've never actually been _in _your house before. Weird, huh?" She smiled, rubbing her hands together to get the circulation back. I nodded in agreement. "It's nice in here! Definitely neater than I expected..." She looked around my home with a muted sense of wonder and amusement. I watched her as she paced around, touching various things and making mental notes. She moved so fluidly. Like she owned the place.

I think she always moved like that, I just never noticed.

"Real nice." She muttered, drawing near where I kept odds and end on shelves. "...I'm not bothering you, am I?" Her bangs brushed across her eyelashes, so she swatted at them. Looks like she forgot a hair pin.

"Uh, no. Not really. I was just listening to music, to be honest." I shrugged. Her eyes lit up.

"Oh yeah? Who were you listening to?"

"Well, you know. Just various artists."

"...You don't have a favorite?"

"Not really." She seemed shocked.

"What!? You _gotta_ have a favorite! You're telling me not _one _single artist or band just...You know, gets you going? Or their lyrics just, you know, get you? Not one?" I shrugged again.

"I haven't really heard anything like that. I just like individual songs, really. Songs are important, not who sings them."

"You _gotta_ have a favorite." She reiterated. " I know. One day I'll bring _all_ my music over here and then we can just listen to everything until you find your thing, okay?" Her voice was a little muffled now. She was facing away from me, bent over, looking at all the stacks of old CD's (and a few dusty cassettes) I had acquired from either my Uncle Kurt or over the years with my own money. She was studying, judging. Her fingers grazed the spines and labels of each one like she was a palm reader.

"Sure, I guess."

"You got some good stuff here." She straightened, her arms crossed. "I like your taste."

"Thanks." I smirked. "It's not something I share, you know? Especially around here. No one really likes the kind of music I like. Well, not anyone but you, now, I guess."

"I got some stuff I could probably recommend. I'm serious, I'm totally gunna spend the night here one day and we can just jam out or whatever." She grinned. "And you can totally teach me how to play the bass. I've always wanted to play the guitar. I just look good holding one, you know?" She laughed and struck a pose, as if she were playing air guitar. I shook my head at her vanity.

"Maybe." She suddenly seemed to clam up.

"So, uh, what are your plans for the rest of the day?" Her eyes trailed up to the ceiling. "I mean, it's too cold to do anything outside. Would it be cool with you if I just hang out here today?" I chewed on my lip and thought it over for a little bit. She wrung her hands nervously.

"I mean, if you want to, I guess...I don't care."

"Cool." She nodded, her lips pursing. Her expression changed to something I couldn't read. "...Do, uh, do you know what today is?"

"What?"

"It's uh, I guess, Winter Harmony Day."

"Oh? ...So what?" I hope she didn't do anything for the holiday.

"Well...Like, I made you something. Is that weird?" She seemed to be blushing. I felt my heart sink a little. Don't do that. Don't do this.

"Isn't it tradition to give boys, like, chocolate or whatever?" I blanched. She nodded silently.

"-But!" She raised her hands up. "I uh, I know you hate sweets because you're an alien or whatever, so I sorta compromised between tradition and your um...Weirdness."

"Oh?" She went over to her coat and grabbed something from the pocket.

"I figured I'd get this out of the way before, I dunno, the rest of the day." She laughed nervously. "So here. It's actually not sweet even though it's made of chocolate. It's got cinnamon and a pinch of chili powder in it. It's nothing big, just something I made myself..." She handed me the small clear bag of cookies with a red bow on it. "No big deal."

"Uh, wow. Thanks." I took it awkwardly and walked over to my kitchen. I placed the sweets on the counter and turned to her. "That's really nice of you to think of me. And making it not uh, sweet." I gave her a smirk, and she seemed very pleased.

"Again, it's no big deal." She shook her head. "It's kind of a dumb holiday, but I figured it was nice to show my appreciation for you, you know? Where else am I going to get my daily dose of sarcasm, scolding, and pained expressions? Certainly not from Rod." She laughed shrilly. Nervously. I rolled my eyes.

"Gee, I feel _really_ special now."

"Well you...Should. You're the only person I took time out of my day for to make something. Kinda glad too, I wouldn't have made it out to everyone else in a storm like this. So...Yeah..." She cleared her throat and circled around my kitchen table. "I uh, I didn't make anyone else anything."

"No?" I suddenly felt self-conscious. "Why's that?"

"...Um...I dunno." She shrugged. "You were the only person I really thought of. I mean, sure, Rod's a good guy but he's probably going to get _tons_ of chocolates, and so is Allen. And then I've only just met Soskei, so..." Her face was pink. "I guess I'm only doing this because..." She furrowed her brow as she searched for the right words. "I did it because I feel _bad _for you. _Loser_." She laughed to show she was joking, but her heart wasn't in it.

"Well, that seems accurate." I chewed on my bottom lip trying to think of something to add, but nothing came.

"So yeah." She shrugged. "Um..." She looked around my house some more. "You know what? I forgot about something I had to do at home. I know I can make it back there without dying, probably, so... Maybe we can hang out some other time, yeah?" Awkward pause. "Yeah. Um. Okay. I should go." She hurriedly went over to my coat rack and put her things on, then she slammed the door behind her.

This was not good.

* * *

><p>"So this is good, right?" Rod stuffed another piece of chocolate into his mouth. I paced back and forth in his brightly lit cottage with my hands in my jacket pocket.<p>

"No, no it isn't." I grimaced. "This is the _opposite_ of good. This is bad. Very bad."

"Why is it bad, again?" Rod asked, muffled by the food in his mouth. Gross.

"I don't _want_ this to happen. I was just getting used to having her around platonically and-"

"You know, you could try being a normal person and, like, just _tell _her you aren't interested in pursuing anything more than just being friends..." He muttered, but then his expression changed. "Unless you _are_ interested in a relationship with her? Is that why you're freaking out?"

"No!" I felt my face grow hot. "I just find her interesting, is all. I do like her, but I just...I need time to figure stuff out. And I don't want her to want something too fast."

"I think you're worried about something that's way far down the line, Neil."

"I _have_ to worry. I don't want to hurt her. I can't do that again."

"I'd quit worrying and let things take their natural course. Gosh, I _knew _I was right! It was a matter of time before it all revealed itself."

"_What_ all revealed itself?"

"That she digs you." Rod grinned cheekily. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Seriously? You're really doing a whole 'I-told-you-so-thing?' Real nice. Thanks. It's not helping." Rod rolled his eyes at me.

"Neil, just take my advice. I may be stupid when it comes to talking to and dealing with girls, but I do know that freaking out about the little stuff is just going to make things worse. Just calm down and...Like I said, take things slow, one day at a time. Who knows, maybe she was just shy about the whole gift giving thing?"

"You didn't see her. This wasn't her usual unabashed awkwardness. This was on a whole new level."

"Don't freak out. What did you tell me? 'She's just a girl,' right? Don't be like, I dunno, scared of her."

"It's not her I'm scared of. When I get...You know, close to people I just start pushing them away." I paused and thought over what I said. "...I'm actually surprised I haven't done anything awful to you yet." I admitted. Rod shrugged.

"There's not much you could do to sway me away from this 'terrible friendship.' I already know you're an awful person." He smiled, pausing for dramatic effect. "At least, at first glance. You're just...You know, like me, I guess. Or rather, how I used to be. Our defense mechanisms are just different."

"What do you mean?"

"Uh, well when I was a kid I used to cry a lot. I was a crybaby. I just broke down whenever something upset me for one reason or another. And a _lot_ of things upset me. It's kind of the same for you, except you either shut things out or respond aggressively to them." I chewed the inside of my lip, not knowing how to respond. It was weird having someone inside my head like this.

"...How do you know so much about...You know, stuff like that?"

"It's not rocket science, Neil. Plus, when you grow up with someone like Allen, you sorta realize that not everyone is how they are at face-value. I know everyone sees him as a vain egomaniac, but he's honestly not like that. The Allen I know is a guy with an absentee father, lazy sister and mother, and a person who worked his butt off at home doing chores and getting good grades at school. I mean, you think it was easy for him? He was bullied for his hobbies and the way he dressed. You can't blame him for finally putting his foot down and giving the middle finger to society. I mean sure, I think he should tone it down with the ladies once in a while, but...I don't know. He kind of earns his conceitedness."

"..." I especially didn't know how to respond to _that. _"...Wow." That was all that came out.

"...Yeah. Well..." Rod turned away from me. "Anyways, I think you're worried for nothing. Just chill."

"Maybe you're right." I wrung my hands, not entirely convinced. I had to prepare myself in advance for things such as this, but maybe the only thing I was preparing myself for was disappointment.

"Besides. It's _Alice_ we're talking about. She's pretty down-to-earth, you know? If it ever came to that, which wouldn't be for a long time _anyways_, I'm sure if you just talk to her like a _normal human being_ about things she'll be cool with it."

"I hope you're right."


	6. Chapter 6

**Neil's POV**

Another week came and went with hardly anything interesting happening. The single youth of the village had begun to grow restless at the mention of the Starry Night Festival taking place towards the end of the week. Many people had already paired up. The older villagers had their respective groups they would be joining even though the festival was considered 'romantic.'

Of course, Alice _said_ she found the whole thing stupid, but she seemed awfully interested in who was pairing up with who.

"You know who I heard Allen was going with?" Rod spoke up. Alice leaned in excitedly.

"What girl could stand him for more than three seconds?" She joked.

"Yuri!"

"Yuri!? No way!" She flew back in her chair exaggeratedly. "...That...Actually makes some sense, strangely." She put a finger to her chin in thought. "He can ramble on and on about how great he thinks he is all night and she can just nod and day dream. Perfect couple."

"I'm pretty excited for him." Rod smiled. I rolled my eyes. They had been gossiping like a bunch of elderly women for nearly the whole time we were eating dinner.

"Soooo...Who are _you _taking, Rod?" Alice waggled her eyebrows at him. "I haven't decided my victim just yet, so maybe you can be on my short list." Her eyes trailed across the empty diner. It would get busy very soon. "We can go as buds, you know?"

"Actually, I'm going with Michelle." He blushed. Her head whipped back to the pet shop owner's face.

"Whaaaat!? No way!"

"Yeah. _She_ asked _me, _even_._" He paused. "...Although she _did_ say something about nobody being left, so that's not really a good sign, is it? Don't get too excited."

"Well that's not fair to say. Not everyone is taken. _Neil_ here doesn't have a date yet, does he?" Her thumb pointed to me. I blanched.

"I'm uh, I'm not going." Rod made a face at me, but Alice didn't notice. She was too busy watching me explain myself. "I'm not into, y'know, sitting in the cold for hours and looking up at stars I can see every night. People make too much of a big deal about this festival. I was sorta happy it was skipped over the past two years. Now that there are more people back in town it's troublesome again." Alice's expression became unreadable and Rod nonchalantly kicked me under the table.

"...Well, if it's lame like you say it is, maybe I shouldn't go either." Her eyes went to the table cloth. She was tracing the checker pattern with her finger, much like the night when we were alone together. Rod kicked me again and I had half a mind to say something to him.

"No no no!" He straightened in his chair. "You have to go! It sounds so fun! Michelle doesn't really want to go with me, probably, so maybe I can convince her to form a...A...A _group_ instead." He looked as flustered as a fish on the bank of the river. "You can, uh, you can come with us."

"Nah, I don't want to infringe on that. And I know how much you were looking forward to spending time alone with her. Who knows, maybe you guys will hit it off? I don't want to be an awkward third-wheel. Sounds like _prom_ to me." She winced. "It's cool, I don't have to go. It's not a big deal. There's always next year, right?" She smiled, but then she cleared her throat. "Wow, I really have to pee. Stand clear mates." She half-heartedly joked. "Be right back." Rod and I watched her move towards the back where the bathrooms were. As soon as she was out of sight, Rod kicked me under the table yet again.

"What-!?"I growled, but he spoke faster than me.

"-What the hell are you _doing!?_ She doesn't have a date! Don't make her feel bad about it! She wants you to ask her out!"

"What? Are you kidding!? She asked _you_ first. If she wanted to go with me, she would have asked me."

"Oh my gosh, I thought _I_ was stupid with girls. She asked me in front of you so you would catch the hint. And then you had to go and say you weren't interested in the whole thing anyways. You know that was her way of asking you, right? And you just rejected her. Ugh! You're such an idiot. And _now_ she doesn't even want to go!" He hissed. It was a little alarming to see him so frustrated.

"Well how am I supposed to know these kind of things!?" I screwed up my face. Girls were so confusing. No wonder why I didn't care for them so much.

"You gotta fix this. She's gotta go, she _wants _to go. And she wants to go with _you_. Suck it up and take her out, you big dweeb." He punctuated his name-calling by poking me in the shoulder violently. He clearly was spending too much time with Alice.

"What did you just call me-?"

"Seriously." Rod grumbled. "Ask her out. It's not going to kill you." His face was red. Just then we noticed Alice coming from the back, so we straightened ourselves up and acted like nothing happened.

"I'm back guys." She announced herself cheerfully. "Y'know, I think I drank too much hot chocolate-" Rod shot me a look while she was prattling on and I fought the urge to sigh. Why did I have to do this in front of him?

"Uh, so...Alice?" She stopped talking and her eyes met mine. "Uh, what I said earlier about the festival was kind of...You know, harsh. I just...I never had anybody to go with so...It's not necessarily _that _awful, especially if you had someone to go with."

"It's cool, Neil. It probably is pretty lame. You don't have to convince me otherwise." She shrugged.

"No, just shut up. I uh..." I glanced at Rod, whose face went from frustration to excitement in less than a second, and then back to Alice. "Uh, we should uh, go together. You know, since we're the last two without anyone to go with..." I trailed off. Her expression didn't change and it was making me a mixture of nervous and a little angry. Here I was doing something extremely difficult _in front of someone else_! And she couldn't even give me a smile or a smirk or even crack a sarcastic joke.

"Hmm." She glanced between me and Rod before she sighed. "Well, sure I guess. If it really is as lame as you made it out before, the least we could do is complain together, right?" There it was. A smirk. A shadow of a smile. Good.

"Cool." I swallowed hard. My throat was terribly dry, now. I felt like my heart was beating in my throat. This was...So stupid. I glanced over at Rod again. He was grinning like an idiot. Ugh.

* * *

><p>For much of the week I stressed over what to say and do while we were alone. Would it be awkward if we didn't have anything to talk about? Should I bring like, a blanket or something? Maybe something to eat? I didn't want to ask her or Rod because maybe it was, I dunno, something that most people just <em>knew.<em> This was the closest thing to a date I've been on as an adult. Was it any different than it was when you're a kid? It should be, right? Whatever.

It wasn't a date. We were going as friends. It's fine. The same rules don't apply. Why was this so difficult?

Never mind, I know why it's difficult. It was pretty obvious. I like her. It was hard to admit because I know it'll all go downhill from here. I don't know what to do in romantic situations. I liked holding hands once before, and I knew that if she wanted to do that I would be cool with it, but what if we _did_ get together and she wanted to kiss me or something weird like that?

I guess, even with that I was okay with.

I think the thing that scared me the most about Alice was that she was definitely not like...Her.

No, _she_ bossed me around, even when we were kids. She always pressured me into things I didn't want to do, including dating her. Now all I had to show for it was her father disliking me and being socially rejected by everyone else. I could just hear her now in her shrill voice that she inherited from her stupid mother Katie, telling me: _'All boys like this.' _She was the worst. She made me feel like a freak. What was wrong with me? She would ask that all the time. Didn't I like her? Didn't I think she was the prettiest girl in town? Disgusting was what it was, now that I'm older I can see that. I always felt like I owed her for being so nice to me and including me when the rest of the kids didn't want anything to do with me. Now I know I don't owe anything to anyone.

Alice was different. She didn't make me feel like I owed her anything, she was just my peer. She made me feel like I mattered, though. That was good. I started to notice details about her, which was probably the closest I would ever get to physical attraction. Stupid things, mostly her mannerisms and things of the sort.

Maybe I liked her because she seemed to understand me, too. She was lonely as a kid, and so was I.

I decided the day of that I would wear some nice black pants instead of my usual cargo camo pants and a thick black sweater instead of my usual long-sleeved black shirt. And I could finally swap my work boots for my nice dress boots I had in the back of my closet. They were almost the same, just black and not caked in mud or barn dirt. They probably smelled better, too. I thought against taming the wild mess of my hair, thinking it might be too much. I hope she didn't dress up a lot. I'd feel bad _and_ under-dressed.

I decided to bring a big heavy old blanket we could wrap around ourselves if it got too cold. Even if she had the same idea, two was better than one, right?

It was probably around seven when I saw her farmhouse in view. It was already pretty dark. It was that funny part of the transition from day to night, that odd blue cast was over everything like a lens as the light faded away. On my way, I saw many villagers making their way towards the festival grounds or mountains. Either place was good for seeing stars. I made a mental note to ask Alice where she wanted to go when I arrived.

A quick knock at the door and there she was in front of me, a basket and blanket in hand. She had her coat and things on, but I could tell she dressed up a little, too. When she raised her arms to gesture to the blanket and basket, the sleeves to her coat went up above her wrists and revealed red knit, probably a sweater. She had black dress pants on, too, but her boots were the same chunky ones she always had. Her hair was tamed but curly, pinned up and mostly under her hat. Her bangs, of course, came out and hid one of her eyes.

"I packed a thermos of hot cider for you – because you're an alien obviously – and a thermos of hot chocolate for me – because I'm normal. Plus snacks because duh. I uh, I also brought a blanket we can put under our butts so we don't freeze our cheeks off." A smirk.

"Alright, I brought a blanket to wrap around us so we don't freeze the rest of ourselves either." I gestured to the big blanket in my own arms awkwardly. She smiled and shut the door behind her. "Do you want to go to the festival grounds or up the mountain?"

"Mountains. Might be clearer, right?"

"I know a good place."

We walked in silence the entire way up. We were both a little out of breath by the time we made it to the summit, but the cold breeze was very exhilarating. She smoothed out her blanket for us to sit on and sat down. She gestured to sit and I awkwardly moved beside her. We were quiet for a long time before she finally spoke up. I was relieved.

"...So...I've never done anything like this before..." She trailed off, passing me a cup and filling it with the hot cider she brought.

"Can't say I have either..." I took a sip. Nice. Apple. It had cinnamon in it.

"...Thanks for taking pity on me, by the way." She began. "If it weren't for you, I might be at home, watching Tim Burton movies and sobbing into a carton of homemade ice cream..." I didn't really know how to respond to that, so I let her continue. She poured herself some hot chocolate and looked up at the stars and galaxies. " Y'know, It's beautiful. More beautiful than usual." Her eyes were glassy. "...Y'know, at first I felt like moving here it was going to be more of the same. And for the most part, it has been...But I'm glad you and I are friends. It means a lot to me."

"What do you mean by 'more of the same?'" Another sip.

"...Well you know, it's like..." She floundered for the right words but shook her head and started over. "Okay. So, I was in a ton of stuff during school. I figured the more stuff I was in, the better chances I had of finding someone like me or making friends. I was considered an over achiever. I got good grades, I was in the paper a lot... I guess I didn't want to feed into rumors or stereotypes that I was going to be some deadbeat or in a lame garage band or some trashy groupie prostitute when I left home. For people who look like me, that's how people see us. I wanted to be someone who made a difference. Who worked for the common good and be successful by my own hard work." Alice watched my expression from her sideways gaze.

"Oh."

"People only seemed to like me for what I could _do for them._ Seems like that a lot here, too. But, you know, what makes it worthwhile is I found a nice guy to hang out with." She paused. "Oh, and you too." She winked at me, grinning. I rolled my eyes. "No, but seriously. It was hard to find a friend while going to private school. I know, _boo-hoo_ rich girl problems, right? But it's...Nice. I mean, it's great to find someone who's even _heard _of the bands I like and not make faces when I say their song names." She took another sip.

"Mm-hmm. Same here, but I'm not a rich city girl." I smirked. "Just, you know, a small town boy."

"Yeah." She met my smirk with another smile. "Hey, we're kinda like that one song, huh? Except in reverse. With the trains and south Detroit? You know the one." We were quiet for a while after that. She moved closer to me after we both decided we needed the other blanket around us. It was sort of nice in an odd way, to have her knee and shoulder pressed against mine as we looked up at the stars. Eventually we made a game of naming constellations while we ate the various snacks she had made for us. It was nice. Then we lapsed into more quiet.

That's what I liked. It _wasn't_ awkward to be silent alongside her. It was comfortable. She had been right before, that I would appreciate someone to just sit with and appreciate their presence. She was that person. It was absolutely lovely.

Pretty soon it was nearly midnight. We decided to stay for a while longer, even though all the food and drink had been exhausted. We talked about familiar things for a while, but soon we were back to the heavier stuff.

"...So, you dated before?"

"Yeah. It was pretty short lived, though." The air made me feel comfortable. Maybe that's why I was uncharacteristically spilling my guts. It felt good to talk to her. "We grew up together. My Uncle Joe- er, he wasn't actually my uncle, he just grew up with my mom- set us up."

"So you went out with your _cousin_?" She made a face. "Back-woods romance is nasty."

"No! No no no. We weren't actually related." I grimaced. "I didn't like her anyways. But she was the pretty and popular girl and she liked me."

"But you didn't like her."

"...I felt like I owed it to her and my family to try being normal for once. She had always been nice to me, even when the other kids shunned me. I was always pretty different."

"Geez, did they throw rocks at you too?" She snorted. I grimaced at her insensitivity, but the jokes strangely comforted me at the same time.

"No, but I wasn't ever like, 'one-of-the-guys.' I think they were all jealous. I was a lot like my Uncle Kurt. He was always a lone wolf kind of guy, and I guess girls like that sort of thing." I shrugged. "I unintentionally came off as mysterious. In reality, I was just devastatingly shy. I have social issues, you know?"

"Oh I_ know._" She grinned. I rolled my eyes for the umpteenth time that night.

"Anyways, I went out with her and...It was a mistake. After we broke up it seemed like everyone avoided me like the plague. Even worse than before."

"What about the other girls that liked you?" She muttered, her head on my shoulder.

"Uh, well. They were all her friends. Small town. Of course they hated me."

"Well at least someone _wanted _to date you." She muttered. "Like I said before, guys just wanted to get with me to boost their ego or didn't even think twice about me." I could hear the hurt she was trying to mask in her voice. "I dunno, boys are stupid. Except maybe you and Rod."

"Well, Rod's pretty stupid." I snickered. She laughed along with me. "Nah, he's a good guy."

"He is. I hope he's having fun today. He really deserves a nice girl. I don't think that girl is Magic Pinky Pie-Girl, but whatever."

"Yeah..."

"...So why _did_ you break up with that girl?" Her head lifted off my shoulder. I could tell her eyes were glued to my face and I felt my mouth dry up.

"Uh, well...She thought I thought she was ugly."

"Why would she think that?"

"Well, remember when I said I didn't like anyone...Like _that_? Well I meant it. I didn't want to kiss her or make out with her. It's gross to me. But it made her feel bad. I didn't feel like pretending, though. I think that would have been like lying."

"Well good on you for not lying to her." Her head was back on my shoulder. I never thought about it that way before.

"...It feels good to share this stuff, you know." I whispered. Her hand found my arm and she squeezed gently.

"I know. I like talking like this with you, too." Her hand fell away. "Feels like excorsising demons." She mumbled. Her voice was heavy and languid. Was she falling asleep on me?

"...Are you falling asleep?" I shook my shoulder and her head bounced. She made a noise of surprise.

"Wha!? No! I'm definitely _not_ falling asleep!" Then she stifled a yawn. "...Okay, maybe I am. Let's pack up and go." We stood. I took her basket and placed the blanket inside along with the two mugs and thermoses. She wrapped my blanket around herself and we made our way down the mountain.

When we got into town there were a few buildings illuminated still, but for the most part people had already gone to bed. As we neared the fork in the path that separated us, I could feel myself growing nervous. She was so tired. Could she make it home? She looked like she was falling asleep just walking. I didn't want her to get hurt. Maybe it would be good of me anyways to walk her all the way home instead of parting. Would it give this too much of a date feel? Probably, but-

"Let me walk you home." Alice mumbled. I blinked stupidly at her as we passed the path that lead to her farm.

"Uh, shouldn't I be the one walking you home?"

"You don't have to walk all the way to my house and then _back _into town. That's dumb." She yawned. She _did_ have a point, but... I shook my head.

"If...If you're coming to my house then..." And the words spilled faster out of my mouth than I could understand what I was saying. "Then maybe you should just crash on my couch."

"Your couch? Seems cool." She sounded _so_ dead tired. This was a good thing. Who cares what people thought in the morning?

I did. I cared. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Why couldn't I just walk her home? And yet my feet kept propelling me forward, towards my house.

We were at my doorstep. I unlocked the door as she muttered something about me being silly, something like 'who's gunna steal your lame stuff anyway?' or whatever. She had a point, but I liked locking up my house anyways. She staggered inside first and I shut the door. She dropped the blanket to the floor and I helped her get her coat and things off like a child. Her eyes squinted at the bright lights of my home. I hung up our things and placed her basket by the door. When I turned around she had already wrapped herself in my old blanket like a burrito and was wriggling like a caterpillar on the floor towards my couch. I laughed at how silly she looked, but she just made a frustrated groan. She finally stood and plopped on the couch, face first.

How elegant. How graceful.

As soon as I was sure she was asleep (she snored hideously;) I changed into pajamas and settled in for the night.


	7. Chapter 7

**Neil's POV**

"This is definitely...Not my house..." I sat bolt upright as the unfamiliar sensation of having someone else in my house surprised me. I rubbed the sleep away from my eyes and searched for the owner of the voice. Alice was still planted firmly on my couch, swaddled in the large blanket just as she had been the night before. It was a chilly morning.

"Hey." I called out awkwardly. Her head whipped around and the blanket fell from her head. Her hair was really messed up. It looked hilarious. I fought the urge to laugh. Her hand freed itself from her blanket cocoon and went up reflexively to her head.

"I didn't rub off an eyebrow, did I!?" She blushed. "I have like half of my real eyebrows under these painted monstrosities, but it probably looks weird to have one-"

"No you didn't displace an eyebrow." I muttered, still not making a move to get up from my bed. It was hard to wake up today. It would be a good day to just sleep and relax. It was a Saturday, after all. "Do you want some breakfast? I'm sure I can find something hot and edible around here**.**" Wow, that came out really wrong and awkward. Sounded like a pick-up line from a greasy looking guy at a seedy bar. Gross. I tried to pull my fingers through my bangs but they got stuck.

Why.

"What time is it?" She mumbled. I shrugged and reached towards my bedside table. I grabbed the digital clock and read the time aloud.

"It's only 7:30." I yawned, placing the clock back where it belonged.

"_What! ?_" She yelled. "I got to get to work, I'm late-!" She stood up, still encased in the blanket like a worm.

"Calm down. You can do everything _after_ breakfast. Just a late start, is all." I finally willed my legs to the side of the bed. I winced as my feet touched the cold laminated wood floors. I stretched, my back making a horrible cracking sound, and headed for the kitchen. "What do you want?" That probably sounded harsher than I intended.

"Oh, you don't have to-" She started.

"-You made food yesterday." I interjected. "I should return the favor."

"Yeah but that's different, plus you already let me crash here and-"

"Just shut up and enjoy my sleepy generosity." I grumbled.

"Okay." She sighed. "Well, whatever you decide to eat I'll eat too. I don't want to put you out too much."

"M'kay." I glanced over my shoulder and saw that she had laid back down, her eyes towards the ceiling. She was snuggled deep in the large comforter. "...You know, you _can't_ keep that blanket." I smirked, returning my gaze back to what was in my cupboards. She made a pained noise.

"Nooo, it's so fluffy and warm. I need it!" She whined. "It smells nice." She added. "You smell nice, Neil. Geez." The last part was to herself. I felt my face redden a tiny bit.

"What?"

"What? I didn't say anything!" Nervous laughter. I shook my head. Well, all I had was stupid oatmeal. I really should head to Hana's and buy cereal or something...

"I uh, I have..._Oatmeal_." How lame. First time I have a girl sleep over and I offer her the most bland thing in the world for breakfast. "...You can add stuff to it, I guess." I pulled the bag of rolled oats down from the shelves above my stove.

"Oatmeal is cool. Nice and warm." She sighed. "I _like_ oatmeal."

"Well I'm glad, because that's all I got." I heard shuffling from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder and I watched as Alice attempted to be a walking blanket burrito. I was surprised she could hobble along the way she did, all wrapped up.

"I like brown sugar, cinnamon, and some butter in mine. You have that?" She asked hopefully. I nodded deftly. What did she think I was, some sort of a stereotypical slob of a single man who could hardly cook? I may have started out that way as a teenager on my own, but I had been alone long enough to learn how to cook for myself.

"I _can_ cook, you know. I've been on my own for like, seven years." I chided. "It's Rod you're thinking of who can't cook worth anything." She laughed at that. Poor guy, always the butt of our jokes. To be fair, he made it too easy.

"I was just asking, calm down." Her tone was light. I heard more shuffling. She had managed to sit at my table _still_ wrapped up. A walking sleeping bag. I smirked to myself and I went to work on our oatmeal I had it done within ten minutes. She finally unwrapped herself enough that she could use her arms again. I sat across from her and we ate in silence. It actually felt strangely pleasing to eat breakfast with someone, even if we weren't talking. And since it was her, it felt oddly intimate and familiar. Like we had done this hundreds of times. When I looked at her across the table I could tell the feeling was mutual.

"...This is nice." She smiled a little. "The oatmeal and, you know, this." She gestured with her spoon towards the house and me. "And even though I fell asleep on you, I wanted to let you know I had a super nice time yesterday. It was fun and not lame like you said it was."

"Well, like I said, I never went with anyone before. It was better." We exchanged smiles like idiots and went back to eating. After we were finished, she insisted on doing the dishes and I couldn't convince her otherwise.

Then there was a knock on the door.

Alice and I exchanged a look of worry. How to explain this? The truth obviously. But would it be believed? Probably not. Great.

I opened the door but only just enough that you could see only me, not inside the house. It was Dunhill.

"Hello Neil. I heard from some of the younger townfolk that you accompanied Alice last night? Now I don't mean to get into your business but-"

"Then don't." I hissed. He shook his head and smiled.

"-But she wasn't home when I came to tell her some news this morning. Do you happen to know where she is?" He tried to nonchalantly look over my shoulder but I moved to block his view.

"No." I knew my face was probably betraying me with blushing.

"Alright, thank you." He tried to look over my shoulder again and I glared at him. He backed away and smiled. "Maybe I just missed her. She's probably out working already. I'm sure I'll run into her later. Thank you Neil." I shut the door. Nosy old man. As soon as I turned around, another knock happened. I could feel the color drain from my face. With one quick movement I turned and opened the door. Now it was Rod.

"Hey man! I gotta tell you about last night! It was- Hey, why are you still in your pajamas? It's almost 8:30. I know that's still pretty early in the morning and you probably had a late night last night with Alice, but-"

"Now is not a good time." I muttered, my body blocking him from coming in. He seemed suspicious.

"What's up with you? Did something bad happen yesterday?" I widened my eyes and attempted to gesture for him to shut up. He didn't catch the hint. "You know, Alice probably-"

"Y'know, I'm super busy and-" Rod made a face at me. Terribly suspicious.

"Why can't I come in? Ugh, let me in." He stuck his arm under mine and tried to wriggle his way between me and the door. We struggled for a second before he managed to tumble inside. I made a frustrated growl and shut the door behind me. Great. His eyes trailed to the woman sitting awkwardly on my couch, still mostly covered in my blanket. She waved gingerly, waggling her fingers. He smiled briefly at her, and then his gaze moved to me questioningly. "She stayed here last night?" So much confusion on his face.

"She was too tired to walk home." The words spilled quickly out of my mouth to offer an explanation to the obviously awkward situation. I realized what it looked like, but Rod of all people should realize it was definitely _not_ that.

"Oh." He didn't sound convinced.

"Can we not?" I crossed my arms. "Let's just not get into it right now. What did you have to tell me?" Rod straightened.

"It went great, I think! We laughed, we talked. She was really sweet and nice. I think she likes me!" His voice was loud and excited. Too much so for 8:30 in the morning. I tried to reciprocate his happiness, at least in my voice.

"That's great!" I patted him on the shoulder. "Now leave." I pushed him towards the door. He protested sharply.

"Wait! How did it go for you guys? Was it fun?" He grinned. Alice nodded.

"It was super fun." She smiled.

"Cool. Alright! I'm out. Talk to you uh, later?" He added softly, obviously only reserved for me. I nodded and he finally left. I slammed the door behind him and let out a long sigh. When I turned she was gathering her things. My heart sank. I wanted to spend just a _little_ more time with her.

"I should probably go before people get the wrong idea." She was blushing. "I really don't need to be known as the town harlot when people where just starting to like me." She joked, buttoning her coat. "Like I said, I had a really great time last night. Thanks for letting me sleep over. And thanks for breakfast." I opened the door for her as she adjusted her hair and picked up the basket from last night. "Uh, and we still have to have the jam-out session still. Don't forget. This didn't count as my official sleep-over thing. You still gotta teach me how to play the bass, even." She grinned.

"Okay." I smiled back. Look at her face. That is a great face.

"Alright! I'm off. I have work to do. Bye." I watched her down the path for a while. As soon as she turned the corner, I shut the door.

* * *

><p>I mentally prepared myself for the barrage of questions that Rod would ask me when he came over to meet me for lunch, but he seemed quiet and nervous the whole way to the diner. When we arrived I understood why.<p>

There, at our normal table, was Allen. He was sitting with a smug look on his face and wiping his glasses on his shirt. He was pretty; even someone like me could tell that. I hated that. I glared at Rod who gave me a nervous grin. He shuffled along and sat beside his childhood friend, greeting him hurriedly. Allen smirked at me as I sat down in front of him.

The contrast between the two men was almost blinding. Rod always had a sort of energetic aura about him, like he was always on the go or ready for a new adventure. He was the kind of guy who had a baby face that teenage girls swooned over. He could be in a boy band. He would probably look younger than his age for a long time. Allen, however, had a face that was angular; almost androgynous, very proud and with deep set slanted eyes. He looked like he was always giving you a 'come-hither' look. It didn't help that he just exuded this cold aura of charm. It was uncomfortable and stifling.

"Hello Neil. I do believe we've met before." His voice was smooth and airy. Assured. Confident. He extended his hand across the table. Long fingers of a pianist. Wouldn't surprise me if he played a few notes. Not a speck of dirt under his nails.

"Hey." My voice came out scratchy and I took his hand. I felt embarrassed in comparison to his. Wide and calloused. Thick fingers, like a boxer. I had trouble at first fingering the strings of my bass guitar, but I learned a few tricks around it. There was dirt under each broken and marred fingernail. I had blisters on my knuckles and old scars from punching one too many walls.

"So Rod tells me that you had Alice over last night? I can't wait to tell everyone who comes in to get their hair done." He laughed, wiping his hands on his lapel. It was a filthy sort of laugh, the kind reserved for villains and millionaires. It suited him. I shot Rod a look and he mouthed 'sorry.'

"Yeah, but why?" I crossed my arms, my gaze returning to the red-head. "It's none of your business. You don't know the whole story, so I wouldn't blab about it to other people."

"Oh?" He raised his eyebrows in amusement. "And what are you going to do to me if I _do?_ Beat me up?" He grinned a Chesire sort of smile. I felt my face grow red. "Calm down, I'm only joking." He leaned back in his chair, granting me an obviously practiced sympathetic look. Like the doctors on tv.

"I told you to_ make nice_ with Neil." Rod grumbled. I had to hand it to him; it was one thing to deal with me, and _another_ to deal with Allen.

"Ah yes. _Make nice._ I'm not sure what that really means." His eyes flickered over to our mutual. "However, I'll do my best. You see," He turned back to me, "Rod here wants us to be civil. He hates divvying up his precious time to see us. Now that he's got a new girlfriend or something he needs to make more room in his day."

"She's not my girlfriend." Rod put his hands up. I rolled my eyes. This was not going to work out very well. Not at all.

I cleared my throat. "Y'know, we see each other at work anyways-"

"But I hate you guys not being on speaking terms." He looked like a child, picking at his fingers the way he was.

"Okay well now we are." I shrugged. Allen's expression didn't change. He had his hands folded on the table. I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. I hailed Felicity over. "Yeah, I'll just take the usual with some hot cider." She nodded while taking my menu and gazed over at Allen.

"Yes dear," he began, his whole body language changing. He was like a chameleon. It was so seamless. "I'll have an order of the herb soup, please, darling, and a cup of tea." He scrunched his face up and acted kind of like he was talking to a puppy or a baby. "Bring a saucer of milk and a bowl of sugar cubes, would you? _Thanks,_ lovely." He handed her the menu with a wink and she giggled. On deeper observation, I found his voice to be quite grating and nasally.

"Uh, I'll take my usual too." Rod noticed my pained expression and absentmindedly handed Felicity his menu as well. Our eyes locked and I shook my head at him. Felicity was off and Allen watched her go. He turned to us again suddenly and gave me a smirk.

"So, how _is_ Alice? You know, she insists on shaving her head like some kind of savage. It's absolutely awful. And here she has such lovely curly hair. I would kill to style that hair." He sighed. I felt my whole body becoming hot.

"She _likes _it that way. Don't be such a creep." I seethed. He was just the sort of person that immediately set me off, what can I say? He seemed amused by this.

"Uh-oh, I'm sorry for insulting your _dearest_." He stressed the last word and I forced myself to look up at the ceiling. It helped calm me down.

"We aren't together, you know."

"Oh really? I figured you two were an item since you went stargazing together." Smug.

"What about you and Yuri?" I glanced down at him, but his face was infuriating. Back to the ceiling.

"Yuri and I? _Hardly_. Although that is a fair point and I have to applaud you for that. No, if I must be honest, Yuri is a bit too...Dense for my liking. We share a hobby in fashion and design; but I _do_ wish she would dress like a woman. She does seem flattered by my interest in her, though. More than I could say when I tried to be nice to your Alice." I ignored the stress on the 'your' and kept my eyes on the ceiling. "You know, I asked her out to lunch once and she rebuked my offer."

"Good." Creep.

"You know," He continued, his voice becoming even more nasally, like he was trying to egg me on, "She is the single most interesting person I've ever met. I have never seen anyone as unique as her. It's quite intriguing."

"What's your point?" I growled, squeezing the muscles in my stomach so I didn't Hulk out on the puny man. He looked like he might be a good at dodging punches. The kind of guy who made stupid comments at you until you swung blindly and missed and then he'd go in for his shot and make it while you were open.

"Well, you know, I was thinking..." He thought for a moment and grinned evilly. "Maybe, since you two aren't together, I should try a new strategy to try and woo her?" I shut my eyes and felt my fist balling up. Remain calm. It's fine. He's _trying_ to rile me up. To, I dunno, prove that he's better than me. Ego tripping himself. All that jazz.

"Maybe you should." I looked down at him, sarcasm dripping from my words like venom, "Let me know how well that works out for you."

"Allen..." Rod mumbled, obviously embarrassed.

"What! I'm just trying to make chit-chat here." Allen smirked, looking at me triumphantly. "You _really_ aren't going to admit you like her?" Allen's eyes squinted at me. "How interesting."

"You just want to be able to tell everyone. You're one of the town's biggest gossip. I'm not confirming or denying _anything_ in front of you."

"Well it's pretty obvious you like her, so I'm definitely sharing this golden piece of information. Maybe I should share it with Tina? She'd _love_ to write up an article about you. I can see the title now in black bold letters: 'Town Recluse Falls For Local Hero Farmer.'" He laughed a little at his own joke. I wanted to punch him right in the teeth and ruin his billion-G smile. What a cad.

"You're just upset because she's the only girl in town that won't give you the time of day, aren't you?" I hissed. His smile faded. "You probably stay up late some nights wondering what makes her so repulsed by you, am I right? And now the new question to haunt you every night is going to be: 'What does Neil, the _town recluse_, have that I don't have?'" I grinned at him maliciously. His porcelain face cracked into an expression of anger. "Maybe I should save you some trouble. Shall I list off? For one, I have an actual personality. Two: I never had an interest in pursuing her. She's not just a game to me. Three-"

"-Alright, whatever. I'll drop it. I was just teasing you, anyways." He growled. "But, you know, I'll be damned if you think for a second that you're somehow better than me."

"I don't. I just don't put value into how many people like me. That's the difference between me and you." I stared him right in the eyes. Rod was absolutely horrified. This was probably not going the way he expected. Or maybe it was and he had been trying to be optimistic. I figured it was the latter.

"You-!" Allen started, but Felicity showed up with our tray of food. He immediately smoothed his hair down and tried to seem pleasant. I interrupted whatever stupid thing he was going to say to her by speaking first.

"-Felicity, can you pack mine up? I need it To-Go..._Now_. Thanks." I grumbled. "I'll follow you. And Rod, I'll catch you later. We can talk more if you want. But this isn't going to work out. Sorry. Your friend here is a huge knob." I slammed my hand down on the table to punctuate my point and went to wait for my food at the counter. I left without looking back.

* * *

><p>Even though Rod seemed to withdraw a little from our friendship, I could tell he wasn't upset at me for what happened at the diner. I felt justified in what I said regardless of his feelings; Allen was straight up being a prick. The very fact that Rod didn't say anything about it just proved that I was in the right. I knew he felt bad for even trying to make us civil, but I had already forgiven him. It wasn't his fault anyways, and I could understand where he was coming from.<p>

I must have struck a cord with Allen, though. I didn't hear any new rumors or even a peep about Alice and I going together at the festival. Maybe Rod had something to do with that, I don't know. I was just thankful.

It wasn't like I was ashamed of it or anything, it's just that I felt like rumors would just add pressure to the whole situation. I don't need anymore pressure. I was already pressured enough by my own thoughts, why add outside sources- logs to the proverbial fire- if you will?

There _was_ one things I noticed, though. People started to pay attention. I mean, to me. Any other time I would have chalked it up to my usual paranoia and social anxiety; but I _knew _it was different. I was _catching_ people looking at me, people who wouldn't even give me a second glance. Hana at the general store, eyeballing me. Emma watching me off towards the river as I made my way to work with Rod. The weird blonde guy's wife from the new travel agency that opened up in town trying to seem nonchalant as she struggled to keep up with me as I walked around doing errands in town. People were trying to catch me at something, but I wasn't sure what. Maybe Allen recruited them.

"Is Allen spying on me?" I blurted out. It was the last Thursday of the year, and we were on our way to meet Alice at the diner. Rod nearly tripped over himself.

"W-what!? What do you mean?" His eyes were wide. "You think Allen is _spying _on you? This is a whole new level of weird, even for you."

"I don't think it's him _specifically_, if that's what you mean. I don't think the guy is stalking me or whatever. I think he told some things to his clientele and now they're suspicious of me for some reason."

"Suspicious of what?"

"I dunno. He's a liar anyways, he could have made up anything. It's not like anyone in town really knows anything about me." I shrugged. "Or _maybe_ he told them to be on the lookout for any new information he could use against me."

"You're taking this way too far."

"Do you think he's above doing stuff like this? Tell me the truth. If you say yes, I'll drop it." I glared at him. He crossed his arms and slowed his pace.

"Well, maybe. I mean probably."

"That's not definite. That's not a yes. I can't drop it."

"It's not a yes but it's not a no either. I dunno, I'll look into it for you. Honestly though, I don't see why you're worried. Alice doesn't like Allen. She likes you."

"...But I hate him. I don't want him to think he has any sort of upper-hand on me. I mean, it's not like I have anything to hide, but still. He's such a smug jerk, he doesn't need anymore ego boosts." I grumbled. I opened the door to Chez Clement and let Rod go through first. Alice was waiting for us, per the norm, at our usual table. She was sitting in the spot Allen had just a few days before. She waved at us cheerily, contrasted by her usual somber-toned outfit. Today it was what she once told me was called a heavy 'broomstick skirt' or whatever and some odd long-sleeved vintage riding jacket that doubled as an overcoat.

"I wanted to get your opinions on something, guys." She spoke up. We paused in our eating to listen. "What do you think about forming a group and sending off the new year with a bang? You know, like a pre-and-after-party after the festival? I thought we could make an evening of the whole thing and rock until the morning."

"Who would be in the group?" Rod's voice sounded pretty excited.

"I thought bringing our whole age group together, maybe throw in Soskei for good measure. All us twenty-somethings in the village. You, Neil, me obviously, _Michelle, _Allen, Yuri, Iroha, Soskei, Tina, and anybody else I forgot to mention."

"Allen?" I grimaced.

"Oh, I heard about your little argument." Dammit. She got me to segway into that _for _her. "What was that all about anyway?" Alice leaned forward in her chair.

"It was nothing. Simple misunderstanding." Rod waved his hand. She seemed convinced. Good. I should make a mental note to thank Rod later for that.

"Well anyways," She continued, "The group will be big enough so you guys never even have to look at each other. Well, maybe you might have to look at each other but you don't have to _talk_ if you don't want to."

"I think it sounds like a great idea!" Rod said excitedly.

"It sounds okay. I'm not good with crowds, but partying for New Year's sounds good."

"Yeah, suck it up you big baby." Alice grinned. "It'll be fun. Don't worry, if you get overwhelmed you can stick by me." Rod cast me a glance but I ignored it. "So what'll be a good time to start kicking things off? Maybe everyone can meet at my house at around seven? I think I'll ask everyone to bring a dish to pass, and that way we can get something in our stomachs. Seven might be best so if people are late they can still eat and have enough time for everyone to arrive, then we can do whatever until festival time and head over there, then after midnight we can do some more partying at my place and everyone can crash there. It'll be so fun! I have a dock so we can freeze our butts off and swim and then run inside for some hot cider or hot cocoa or whatever floats your boat. We can play games like a giant sleep-over! My house is big enough for everyone to sleep comfortably."

"Oooh! I'm so excited! I can't wait!" Rod grinned, pumping his fist.

"Neil, you could bring your bass and play for everyone!"

"No, I don't think so. I don't play for anyone."

"Ugh you're such a spoil-sport." She grimaced. "Oh well, we'll find other entertainment, I'm sure. Anyways, I'll let everyone know and tell them to meet up at seven-ish so they can eat and drop off their things. I know there will be food at the festival, but I figured whatever people bring and don't eat can be snacks for later in the night."

"Sounds like a good idea." Rod was such a kiss-up sometimes. I shrugged.

"Yeah, seems legit."

This was probably going to be the best or the worst night I'd have in a long time.


	8. Chapter 8

**Neil's POV**

I had decided to arrive 'fashionably late' for Alice's New Year's party. The decision was made in consideration of two things: I didn't want to seem too eager in both the eyes of her _or_ Allen. I also was not terribly excited for the excessive noise or chaos that a party would bring to the normally peaceful farmstead. I wasn't ever going to be prepared enough mentally for all the mingling, all the prying questions made with the utmost politeness or good intentions; sweaty palms, darting eyes, awkward silences.

How I loathed parties.

I had arrived quarter to eight; any later and I would be held suspect by either Rod or Alice, and any sooner I risked prolonging the above perils mixed with the gaze of the bespectacled douche-bag scrutinizing my every move or gesture in relation to Alice. Maybe he would do that anyway, but I certainly didn't want to be alone with him, not even if a few others separated us. I had chosen a good time to come, seeing as when I arrived many people where already there. I could tell by the shadows that darted in the windows of Alice's house.

Truth be told: I was terrified of my peers. I was afraid of looking stupid, especially in front of Alice. For me, being a shut-in is both a cause and a symptom of itself. I never did anything like this as a teenager, I never had the opportunity to learn from public social blunders before it mattered. Now it does. These people where colleagues, customers, fellow townsfolk, and adults. Many of them well-adjusted and socially sufficient.

I took a deep breath, but my hand froze before I could turn the knob. Maybe I should just leave. Maybe Alice wouldn't notice me missing while she had to entertain all those other people? No, Rod would remind her. And I think she'd noticed. If she liked me like Rod said she did.

Here we go.

I opened the door and sucked in another deep breath. The smell was unfamiliar. Mostly Alice's perfume, but it mingled with the various scents of the other party-goers. When I opened the door everyone fell silent and looked to see who it was. I uttered an awkward greeting and a few people smiled and returned it. Many others, after seeing who it was, simply turned and continued talking. I frantically searched for the host, who shuffled quickly over to me. She was wearing a tight black dress that I was sure if I was different would probably have made me feel light-headed. She gave me a pert greeting and looped her arm around mine. She tugged me through the small crowd of snacking adults to where she had been standing.

"I'm _so_ glad you're here. I know I said you wouldn't have to talk to him, but I need your help. Your sarcasm is like a super power that just makes people want to leave. Allen has been trying to flirt with me this whole time and I just want to rip all my skin off and take a bath in lemon juice. I've been saying all kind of jerkish things to him and trying to appear as unattractive as possible, but I think he thinks I'm just playing hard to get. Plus, like, look at me. I'm pretty darn attractive. It's hard to mask it." She whispered into my ear. I ignored her vanity and could feel the heat of anger rising in my chest. As if on cue, he came into view, obviously waiting for her. When he saw me he gave me a smug smirk but did not automatically greet me.

"Neil's here, isn't that great!?" She feigned girlish excitement, picking up a paper plate full of food from behind Allen. She began stuffing her face with whatever odds and ends it had on it in a panicked sort of way. Allen's face flickered to an expression of the judging sort, but soon went back to his flirtatious gaze.

"Darling, if you eat anymore you'll gain weight."

"Good, I need to thicken up for the rest of the winter so I can hibernate." She retorted with a snort. I knew this was going to be a long night, I could already tell.

"Yes, dear, but don't you want to be thin in prep for spring? You'll have to buy more clothes-"

"I love shopping." She stuffed more food into her mouth.

"You know, speaking of spring, maybe you could change up your hairstyle? Maybe let the sides grow out-"

"Nah, I'm thinking about chopping the rest off. Maybe dye it bright green. Get it chemically straightened with a harsh relaxer. Maybe bleach it till the ends are fried. Who knows? It's my hair, I can do whatever I want with it." She shrugged, an evil glint in her eyes. "You know, my favorite thing to do is to tease it until it's like a _rat's nest_ and then just go to town on it with this hard hairspray. It makes my hair feel like it's just GLUED and-"

"Okay, fine." He made a face. "Nothing new. I'm just trying to give you advice."

"I didn't ask for your advice." She grimaced.

"What about you Neil, do you like Alice's hair?" Allen crossed his arms, looking more then a tad miffed. I shrugged.

"If she likes it, it's cool with me."

"But don't you think women are more attractive with cute hair instead of edgy hair? Or whatever _that_ is she does with what's left on her head?"

"Uh, I don't think it matters because women don't or shouldn't cut their hair just for men. Or anyone else for that matter. Just themselves. I like whatever a woman says she likes her hair as." I could see Alice grinning in the corner of my eye.

"Well...Maybe we can add some color to your wardrobe?" He touched her dress and she drew back.

"I have color in my wardrobe!" Alice seemed genuinely offended by that comment.

"Princess, puss green, period blood red, and bruise-colored purple are hardly colors."

"But they are." She grunted. "Just shut up Allen." She glanced at me, and for some reason my presence helped her gain that last bit of confidence she needed to finally tell him off. "I don't need your stupid thinly-veiled insults. If you think that'll make me like you, you're way off. Maybe that works for some unknown god-forsaken reason with other people, but not me. You're being a major nozzle right now." She put her hand up. He seemed just as offended as Alice did a few seconds ago. I couldn't help but let out a chuckle at his stupid expression. He seemed mostly upset that she had embarrassed him in front of me.

"I...I think I heard someone need me over there. Excuse me." He grimaced, walking past me and leaving the two of us alone.

"See that? We double teamed him. Hi-five!" She held her hand up. I gingerly smacked it and she seemed comically disappointed. "...Thanks. I kind of hate that guy. Sometimes he's okay, like when you _actually_ ask for his opinion. But usually he's just gross."

"I don't like him much either." We stared awkwardly at each other, the only noise was the murmur of the other party-goers. "Uh," I began, trying to break the silence. "Nice party so far." Wow, what a freakin' good line. Why do I even exist? I'm so lame.

"Yeah, thanks. We're just waiting for..." She stood on her tiptoes and looked over my shoulder at the room. "Soskei and Iroha...And...Oh, and Felicity! I realized I had completely forgot about her when I was listing people that one day. Heh. Super weird."

"Ah, cool. Rod's here? I figured he would be with you or waiting for me." I moved and stood beside her to look at the rest of the party going on.

"Nah, Michelle's here. He probably didn't even notice that you're here."

"Ah."

"See? Right over there in the corner. Look at how much pink she's wearing. Ugh." Alice pointed. I followed her finger and saw them. She was right. We exchanged a look of disgust but ended up just smiling stupidly at each other. I cleared my throat awkwardly and broke our stare.

"Uh, so...We leave at 9:30 to head for the festival grounds?"

"Yep."

"Oh." I shifted uncomfortably and checked my watch. It was just after eight now.

"...I didn't expect everyone to come so soon, to be honest. I think the first person to arrive was Rod at like, 7:05 sharp. I thought the first person might arrive at about the time you came, but nope. Everyone is pretty punctual. Weird."

"...Maybe they're just excited?" I offered. She nodded.

"Probably. I am pretty cool." A shrug, and I rolled my eyes.

* * *

><p>A hour and a half later and less-than-painful-but-still-sorta-uncomfortable mingling and the arrival of the missing party-goers, we made our way as a group towards the festival grounds.<p>

We started off pretty well and remained a cohesive group for much of the night, but around eleven o' clock people started to disperse and disband.

Dunhill really went all out this year. Usually we had a small countdown clock with a table with some snacks and punch, but this year we had a big clock and a big buffet table. Maybe because the town was bringing in more money and we had a lot more people to feed. Either way, it was a little more exciting than previous years. There was even music coming from Harvest-God knows where.

"This is nicer than I expected." I heard Alice's voice behind me, so I turned around. "What are you doing here in the corner all by yourself? I've been looking for you." She moved around and stuck by my side. We gazed off into the crowd for a while in silence before she finally turned to me and spoke once more. "...Hey, did you think I was a good host so far? I know we haven't gotten to the main event yet, but...Well, I've never done anything like this before." She looped her arm around mine, bringing her body close. She was probably cold.

"I think you're doing good." I shrugged. "I've got no complaints, at least. That's something, right? I mean, I love to complain." I smirked. She nodded with a smile.

"Good. I was worried I was just totally awful. Oh look, we've only got a half-an-hour left of this year!" She pointed to the large countdown clock in the middle of the crowd. "Hey Neil?"

"Hm?"

"I think this was a really good year." She said sheepishly. "Probably the best one I've had yet. I think my New Year's Resolution is to try and have an even better year than this one." She paused for a beat. "What's your resolution?"

"Mine? Haven't thought of one yet." I grunted. It was true. "I don't do stuff like that. I feel like many resolutions fail. I don't want to set myself up for failure."

"...So do you think mine will fail?" She scrunched up her face.

"I dunno. Yours is kind of up to you and your perception of what happens this next year. That's a pretty good resolution, I guess. Most people make ones about losing weight or stopping an addictive behavior." She seemed a little disappointed. Her arm unwrapped around mine.

"That's lame." Arms crossed.

"...Well, I've never made a resolution before anyways."

"Never? ...Well, maybe I can help you." I chewed on my lip as I weighed the pros and cons of her offer in my head. Oh well. If it would make her happy.

"...What should I do?" I sighed. I probably would regret this later.

"Well, what do you want to accomplish this upcoming year?" She leaned her head against my shoulder and looked up at me.

"Hmm. I dunno. I don't really make goals for myself too often."

"You could try to change something you're unsatisfied with."

"Well, I've been way more social this year than ever before. I've already accomplished that." I shrugged for the millionth time. "I dunno."

"Well...You could always vow to improve something. Maybe learn something new?" She offered.

"Maybe." I thought about it some more. What did I want this year? Maybe I could make a resolution to get closer to Alice. That seemed about right. I couldn't very well _tell _her that though, could I? No. That one could be my secret resolution. What was something I should do? I know. "...Maybe I should write to my mother more. I try to write her every few months, but I have a feeling I should do it more often."

"There you go! So your New Year's Resolution is to write to your mother more. How sweet." She laughed, but her expression went sober afterward. "Maybe I should make another resolution. I haven't talked to my parents in a long time. Maybe I should call them up." She shook her head. "Nah. Maybe not."

"Is it that bad?"

"Well they haven't exactly reached out to me either." She shook her head sadly. "I don't want to talk about it now, though. Let's just have fun tonight. Look! Now we've only got _ten_ minutes left!" I had noticed the crowd growing restless, and from my position I could see the whole fair grounds. People where pairing off, getting ready to end the year with their person of choice. I was glad Alice chose me. I noticed some of the townsfolk where hitting the champagne hard now. This place was going to get crazy soon. I felt the crowd's hysteria growing. Excitement. It was a little overwhelming. It made me want to jump out of my skin.

"Five minutes!" Alice grabbed onto my arm again, jumping excitedly. "C'mon, let's go with everyone in front of the clock!" She pulled on my jacket sleeve, willing me to come with her. I struggled against her for a moment before I complied with a sigh. She found Rod and Michelle along with a few others of our group. He had a champagne glass in his hand. It looked funny, like he was a minor trying to look cool.

"This is sooo fun!" He yelled at me, obviously a little drunk. Michelle giggled an agreement and hung on his arm. It was all so weird. I nodded awkwardly at him and Alice just shook her head in disapproval.

"Look look look! One minute!" I heard someone from the crowd shout. Somehow, somewhere, the background music had stopped. The whole place was buzzing. I felt like my heart was going to leap out of my chest.

"30, 29, 28..." The crowd sang out. I looked over at Alice, who was still clutching onto my arm. She was screaming the numbers almost the loudest.

"20,19,18..." In this moment I finally felt part of something larger. Maybe it was the unity of the crowd. It was so weird (but in a good way) and surreal. I found myself yelling the numbers too.

"10, 9, 8...!" The crowd grew louder, arcing the hysteria to new dangerous levels. My eyes were fixated on the clock. Alice released my arm and her hands were in the air.

"3, 2, 1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" The crowd screamed, and fireworks boomed in the air. I felt myself grinning like an idiot. I turned to see Alice, who immediately jumped and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. Before I knew what was happening, her lips were planted firmly on the side of my mouth. My heart probably stopped in that second. She turned to cheer with the crowd as if nothing happened. I looked around. Some of the couples where still in an embrace. Even Rod was brave enough to sneak a kiss from the magician. I felt my face grow hot.

Alice had totally just kissed me.

I mean, I know it was a tradition and all that, but out of all the other people, she chose me. Consciously. I had never been picked first before in my life. I was suddenly snapped out of my thoughts as I felt Alice shove me playfully.

"Celebrate, dummy!" She shouted over the crowd. I nodded deftly. How could I? A thing just happened. A _thing._ A crazy thing. A life-changing thing. _She_ did the _thing._ My heart was racing. I glanced over at Rod who waggled his eyebrows at me. He probably saw her do the thing, and now he was going to tease me. Great.

* * *

><p>"I'm afraid they're going to break something." Alice muttered, sipping on the punch she had made. She and I had been the only ones to drink it <em>before<em> it was spiked by another party-goer. And then Allen had made a big show of sharing some sort of foreign fancy wine. Whatever.

"That seems...legit." Alice winced as someone knocked over a chair and drunkenly laughed.

"You guys want to go outside for some fresh air?" She called over the crowd and the background music someone had put on in the last half hour or so. Some people booed and some cheered. Thinning out the crowd was a good idea. It was getting stuffy in her house. Alice left my side to tend to the crowd. She seemed to be staying close by to me all night. As soon as she left, she was replaced by Rod who smelled strongly like alcohol.

"Taste this wine. It is like, probably really good since it's expensive or whatever. It hardly tastes like medicine. _Hardly._" Rod stressed, holding up a cup to my face. I grimaced at the smell and declined. He shrugged. "Well, you know," He draped over me, "I think Michelle and I are hitting it off super awesome. Oh gosh, she is just so pretty and funny. I think we should get married. Like, what if we do? _You'll_ be my best man, obviously. Allen would be too overbearing and-" He looked at me peculiarly. "Oh my god." His eyes widened. "I just realized something so important. I love you _so_ much. More than I love Allen, probably. Like, _for real_. I'd _totally_ marry you, if one of us was into guys. Since we're such good friends, I think it might work out. But you like Alice too much and I don't love you like that. Oh! You know who I _couldn't_ marry? Allen; even though he's my friend, too. We would get into _so_ many fights because like, he's so insensitive and like, we'd probably divorce and, you know, I'd probably only marry him for his looks so-"

"Can we like, _not_ talk about stuff like that Rod?" I felt my face flush. "Like,_ wow_, I'm super flattered but you are super drunk so maybe you should just lay down."

"Hey. Hey." Rod stumbled into me, using my shoulder to prop himself up. "You know what? I _totally_ saw Alice kiss you. Crazy. I _told_ you she likes you. You guys are gunna get married too. Then we'll all be married. I better be your first pick for best man-" I shrugged him off me and he nearly fell over.

"Let's really not talk right now. You're off your head right now, we can talk about it later." I desperately hoped he would forget the whole thing. I was still processing it myself. "Maybe you should go to bed?"

"Noooo!" He whined. "I'm not tired." He yawned.

"Sure. Talk to you later." I shook my head. He sat in a chair and seemed to immediately nod off. Michelle walked over and tried to smack him awake. When she couldn't, she glanced at me and huffed exaggeratedly.

"What a lightweight." She slurred, obviously inebriated herself. "He's cute though." She shrugged, sitting beside him. Suddenly her head lolled and I could hear her snore. So much for that.

"Too bad we couldn't get a free show out of her." I heard someone remark. When I turned around I didn't see anyone that the voice could have belonged to. Oh well. I hoped they had meant her magic and not her...Self.

"-Ohmygosh that's going in my report tomorrow!" Tina's unmistakable giggle erupted from outside. She was talking to someone else about something. I could hear her from inside because Alice had propped the door open to let the stuffy air out of her house.

Even with half of the party-goers outside, I still felt pretty claustrophobic.

I needed air, away from everyone else.

I wandered far away from Alice's house until I reached the dock. The air was colder around the ocean. I thought how wonderful it must be to be able to see the ocean everyday. Alice had cleared the trees lining that blocked the shore-line from view of the house, but up close it was breathtaking. It reminded me of the view from my old home. And there was a full moon tonight. And the ocean: Such a big black expanse of rolling energy. I almost wished I could be swaddled in the waves, if it didn't mean certain death by drowning or hypothermia.

"Always off by yourself, huh?" It was Alice, of course.

"I can never get away from you." I muttered, dangling my feet of the edge of the tall dock. I could just jump now. You ever get weird thoughts like that? Like when you're near something that could kill you, like a wood chipper? Sometimes I think...I could just push someone in there or I could stick my arm in there and it would turn into shreds. Of course, they're fleeting and they scare the crap out of me, but it's common enough in all people to make me feel more secure in what sanity I have.

"That's not nice." I could hear the grin in her voice.

"Shouldn't you be, I dunno, babysitting?"

"Would you believe they're dropping like flies? I guess alcohol makes you sleepy or something. It _is_ almost three in the morning, anyways."

"I'm wide awake. Probably won't be for very long, though. I _should_ try to get some sleep. I'll probably have to work tomorrow."

"I have to work everyday. Can't neglect my livestock or forget to water my crops."

"At least you can sleep in."

"That's true." She sat beside me.

"...Are you hovering because you're worried about me?"

"Maybe." She admitted.

"I'm okay. I just needed some space. Crowds and me don't mix. It's been less terrible than I thought it would be, though. Only a few people tried to be nosy. Mostly Tina, but I shut that down real quick with my...What did you call it? Super power?" I grinned. She laughed. It punctuated the frigid air.

"I'm glad you came, though. I was worried you'd chicken out." I felt the color drain from my face. I almost did. "But it was nice hanging out with you amongst all the drunkards, even if they are pretty funny. I like smaller get-togethers. Intimate conversations and all that. Sometimes. I suppose you wouldn't like that though, would you? Pressure to speak." She looked out over the ocean. Her hair was the same color as the deadly water.

"Yeah. I prefer...One on one." I winced immediately after I said it. Did that sound like a line? It wasn't meant to be. "..." I opened my mouth to speak some more, but words didn't come. I didn't know how to ask her about the kiss. I knew I would end up feeling stupid because I was about 300% sure it was a tradition thing, but maybe .0001% of me wished it wasn't.

"What?"

"...Nothing. I just...I was remembering earlier."

"What about earlier?" I rested my arms on my knees and felt my mouth dry up.

"You know, just...Like, the countdown and stuff." I shrugged. It was my favorite thing to do. It was non-committal.

"Oh. That was fun." She smiled. "...And sorry for just kind of..._You know, _doing what I did_._ I probably should have asked you first, but I was so caught up in everything that I forgot. I hope you can forgive me. It _is_ a tradition, though. Share a kiss at midnight and all that." Her voice was nervous, but her expression never changed. My heart sank a little.

"Oh." Oops, that sounded disappointed. "I forgive you, by the way."

"Why 'oh?'" She crossed her arms. "Don't tell me you thought I was trying to sneak a kiss from you or something?" She snorted, but her smile faded. I looked back towards the inky abyss. I should just chuck myself right in. "Right?" Her voice had a hint of panic now.

"Well, no-" I began, the words coming out fast. "I just have been thinking about it is all. Nothing serious." I shrugged, trying to hide whatever emotion I was feeling. I felt the warmth of her hand hover over my shoulder before leaving.

"Neil-"

"It was stupid, just forget it." I wasn't sure what I was feeling, to be honest. It wasn't hurt or disappointment, but I wasn't happy or relieved either.

"...I'm sorry I said that. It was a joke." She whispered. "A bad one."

"It's fine."

"...Maybe I was."

"Maybe you were what?" I turned to her. She was playing with the hem of her dress.

"Trying to sneak a kiss." She mumbled. "I have to be honest with you. I think you're pretty great. But I know you have stuff do deal with, so I haven't said anything to you. And you don't have to worry about it because...I'm used to liking people I can't have anyways." I didn't really understand what she had said at first, but once I had processed it, I felt like I'd never recover from the shock. "...I don't want to ruin this awesome friendship we have, anyways. You're one of the best friends I've _ever _had. You're the number one, easy." She admitted. "So just don't...Don't worry about it." She got up before I could say anything in response.

I deftly followed her, not sure what to say. I wasn't even sure what I was feeling, to be honest. Maybe I just needed time to step back.

"I think everyone is asleep. I don't hear talking or any music. Maybe we should sleep, too." She murmured softly. I nodded. "You can sleep wherever you want-" She opened the door. Yep, many people were sprawled out on whatever flat surface they could sleep on. Some across tables, most people on the floor. A few on her sectional. The only free space was her bed. We had to step over a couple people to even get to it.

"Looks like you're sleeping with me." She blinked and realized what she had said with a flush. "I mean, you can sleep in my bed, but I'll be under the covers and you'll be over them. I have extra blankets, though so... Yeah. Don't get any funny ideas, mister." She joked halfheartedly. In light of her recent admittance, I found it less than hilarious. She opened up her closet and threw the blanket over to me. "I'm getting in my jammies. You can get settled in, if you want. I'll turn off the light."

"Sure." _That's_ what I forgot. Pajamas. Oh well. While she was gone I awkwardly sat on her bed, shedding my jacket and taking my boots off. The whole bed smelled overwhelmingly like her. I felt like a creep. Like a creep in a subway who's behind a woman and just smelling her hair like some pervert. A _super_ creep.

"You're _still_ not laying down? You're such a weirdo. It's just a bed. It's just me." She grimaced, dressed in a long black nightgown with ghosts on it. Of course. Her hair was also up in a ponytail, so I could see both of the shaved sides at once. It was kind of cool to see her without makeup. She looked pretty much the same without it. Maybe a little more plain, but I liked it.

I sighed with frustration and collapsed backwards onto her bed. "Happy now?" I grunted. She laughed a little, flicking off the main lights.

"Sure." I felt the bed shift as she climbed into the covers next to me. "Just go to bed." She chided playfully. "You're starting to annoy me." She reached over my head to click off the lamp on her bedside table.

"Ah, so our limit is about seven hours together." I smirked.

"I guess so." She giggled.

"Hey, Alice?"

"Hm?"

"You're not just...You, you know?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm me, Neil. Did you have some of the spiked punch?" She joked. I fought the urge to make a frustrated noise again.

"You know what I mean. About what you said earlier? You said, 'It's just me.' Well, I don't think...You know, you're _just_ you. You're pretty great too."

"Oh."

"I mean, I think it's pretty weird you think I'm great, to be honest. I mean, have you actually ever spent time with me? I'm an angry nutcase." I sighed. "I'm not that great."

"You _are _great_._" She pressed. "We wouldn't be friends if you weren't."

"Thanks."

"Let's not talk about it now. Maybe later. Tomorrow. I'm sleepy."

"Okay."

"Goodnight." She scooted closer to me. I could feel her breath on my chest through the thin black cotton of my shirt.

"Goodnight, Alice." I breathed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Neil's POV**

** T**he unfamiliar scent that surrounded me caused me to jolt up from where I was sleeping. My eyesight was blurry and my brain was still confused about the orientation of the rest of my body, but I could piece together that I wasn't in my bed or even in my own house. Where was I? Suddenly the memories of last night came flooding back to me.

The party. The countdown. The kiss. The confession.

Alice.

Where was Alice? Oh, that's right. I was sleeping in her bed because-

I rubbed my eyes so I could see more clearly. All of the people had already left, which meant almost everybody in town saw us sleeping in the same bed together. Great.

I noticed that there was a big piece of paper on her table that wasn't there last night; (I know, because Rod's whole upper half was draped over it like a cat.) It was probably a collective thank-you note. I looked over at Alice's clock by her bedside table. It read "11:00." Not too shabby. I still felt exhausted, though.

I turned to Alice. Somehow during the night she had kicked off her blanket and was sprawled on her side, facing towards me. One arm was draped over her eyes and face, and the other was tucked under her head. I felt my face flush as I realized her nightgown had raised a bit over her hip and revealed the tiniest sliver of her red uh, 'undergarments.' I hurriedly picked up her comforter and threw it over her. She stirred the tiniest bit but didn't make anymore movement after that.

I wondered if she had been laying like that a while. If she had, it made me feel a little weird. Kind of upset or angry. Just a tiny bit. Like, other _people _could have seen her undies too. Not that I cared about seeing them, just...You know. People are perverts. People...Like Allen. Whatever. I could hear her making a wise-crack to me if I expressed that to her...She'd say something like, 'Oh no! No one can _ever know _that I wear underwear. Now I have been shamed. You'll have to sell me off for _only_ three goats. My value has been reduced greatly. So sorry. I'm crying.'

I laughed a little to myself. The woman beside me stirred and sat up. "...Neil? Is that you?"

"Yeah. Sorry, I just thought of something funny and-" She was rubbing her eyes, not even listening to a word I was saying.

"Did everybody go?"

"Yeah, I think so. It's already eleven." I yawned, stretching. Her bed was pretty comfortable. My back didn't even hurt.

"Ugh, really? I could lay here for the next three days. I'm so sleepy." She rolled her shoulders and something cracked. "Why are you still here?" I blanched.

"Oh, uh, well...I just woke up and-"

"Wow, sorry," She blushed, watching my expression. "I totally didn't mean for that to come out so mean! I'm glad you're still here. I just meant like...Nevermind. Hey, think you can lend me a hand today? Or are you super late for work?"

" Uh, sure. If you want me to. I don't have anything else to do. And..I don't think so. About the work thing. Rod didn't have to work today, so I know I don't either. At least, he didn't seem to think he worked..." I paused. "Either way, I'm not there _now_, so they probably know I'm not coming in." A shrug.

"Alright. Well, let me get dressed and let's get to work. Think you can keep up?" She smiled mischievously, bounding out of the bed.

* * *

><p>"Let me show you something cool." She grabbed my arm, leading me towards her east field. "It's super awesome. You gotta see this!" She let go and ran ahead, zigzagging and jumping through the rows and rows of crops still left over from last year. "This is the last day I'm keeping them. Harvest is up, tomorrow I gotta plant all new stuff, but look! See this rock?" She tapped on a boulder that seemed to be situated in some sort of hole at the top of her terraces.<p>

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Watch. Cover your head."

"Cover my head!? What-!?" She kicked the rock and it flew up into the air, propelled by the power of the geyser underneath of it. In surprise, I took a few large steps back and she laughed hardily.

"It waters all the plants on the terraces! That's how I grow so much with hardly any effort!" She yelled over the noise of the rushing water. The pressure from the water must have been spent, and the boulder fell back into its place with a large THWACK. "Cool, huh?" She grinned.

"Y-yeah." I stammered, still getting over the shock of what just happened.

"Alrighty, to the coop!" She stuck her finger in the air and began running back towards her central field. I sighed and ran after her. For someone who claimed to be so tired and exhausted less than a half-an-hour ago, she sure liked running around.

"Hello my chickies!" She burst through the door. I had half a mind to tell her to calm down, she might scare them, but they were obviously used to it. They clucked and flocked around her excitedly. She was careful to step over them as she made her way to her feed storage. "Can you get that bucket and get their eggs while I feed them?"

"Sure..." I tried to figure out what bucket she was referring to. I finally saw it near the chicken's nests and started doing as she asked. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed she was picking each of the chickens up and hugging them. What a weird girl. It seemed to do the trick for them, though. She was scattering their feed around their bin when I was finished.

"Done. Let's go to the barn."

The barn was more of the same. She was oddly loving to each of the animals, like one would be to a cat or dog. It was refreshing to see instead of what I had grown up with. She was the kind of person who wouldn't even dare think about selling her livestock. This was the sort of ranch where they would be born and where they would die of old age, happy all the while in between.

Good.

"That's all I'm doing for today. What do you say we get some lunch in our tummies? I'll make you something."

"Um, okay." I shrugged. "You don't have to-"

"Nah, it's no biggie. Don't worry about it. You helped me out today. It's the least I can do. Besides! You're probably just as starved as I am." We walked back toward the house.

As she cooked something for us, I was sitting at her kitchen table. "They wrote you a note to say thank you..." I muttered, flicking it off the table. She nodded, her eyes following the paper as it fluttered to the floor.

"Yeah, I know. I saw it. Nice of them."

What was I going to say to her? I _really_ wanted to bring up what happened between us last night, but where to start? Just say 'So hey, you said you like me? Yeah, I like you too, totally want to spend like at least 75% of my every waking moment with you, but uh, yeah. It's not like I want to kiss you or any weird stuff like that, heh heh, soooo...Yeah. Wanna date me?' Real nice. No. I couldn't say that. Ugh. This was terrible.

"You think any harder, and steam'll blow out your ears, Neil." She smirked, stirring whatever was in the pot in front of her. "...The snow was all melted. Did you see that? Seems almost twenty degrees warmer than it was yesterday. You notice that? In the city, the seasons bled into each other. But here it seems one day it's winter and the next its immediately spring, you know?"

"It was like this where I grew up. One day there was snow, the next there wasn't."

"So weird." She shivered. "I'm still not used to it."

"It is a little strange, I guess. I just never thought about it." She was spooning something into bowls. The smell was familiar, spicy, but I couldn't place my finger on what it was.

"Here you go." She set the bowl down in front of me. "Figured you might appreciate something warm and hearty in your stomach. It may be warmer than it was, but it's still cold enough to wear a hat and mittens."

"You made...You made shrimp chili?" If I wasn't so good at it, I might have not been able to contain my excitement. "This...Wow. My mom used to make me this. Brings back memories. Haven't had a bowl for, wow uh... Maybe almost ten years." Pure nostalgia.

"You sound like an old man." She laughed. "And you know, I don't appreciate being equated with your _mom_. She might be great or whatever, but ugh. Gross. And I probably don't make it as good as her."

"You probably make it _better_ than she did. My mom was an awful cook. She can't cook spicy things very well. She _could_ make sweet things, though. Dad's favorites. Jams. Jellies. Pies and cakes. Not great with spices, stuff I liked, though. But I guess it was still, you know, good. To me, at least. Maybe because she made it. Who knows?"

"Well, I hope you like it." She smiled, settling down across from me.

I took a taste. "It's _way_ better than my mom's. No burnt after-taste." I smirked. I was thinking about my mom yelling about how cooking stuff like that was hard but oh well, eat this anyways, sorry it's a little burnt...Think of it as an extra flavor...Heh. She was funny. I should write to her, get started on my resolution.

And my other resolution, right?

"...What? You've been acting weird today." Alice squinted at me.

"...It's nothing, I just...Can we talk about last night?" The color drained from her face.

"Oh? Like, about what?" Her eyes avoided mine. She was staring into her bowl as if she could read something in it.

"Like, about what you said." I muttered. She nodded silently. "...So, how long?"

"How long...? Like, how long have I...You know, liked you?" Her cheeks flushed, but she still looked rather pale. Her eyes were still down in her food.

"Yeah."

"Well...Maybe a while. A long time, probably. Does it matter?"

"I think so."

"You think so?" Her eyebrows knitted, but her eyes still were looking away. "What does that mean?"

"Like I said last night, I think you're pretty great, too."

"What does _that_ mean?" She grimaced.

"I don't know, to be honest. I just like spending time with you." I admitted. The words started to fall out of my mouth. "I used to feel kind of weird when you would come see me, but now I just look forward to it. And I like talking to you. And sitting with you. Even when we don't say anything for a long time. I like just...Being with you. I don't really know what that means." Her mouth flickered into a smile for a second.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. But..." Her eyes finally made an effort to meet mine, but soon were back to the table. "You were right about me having issues. But they're the kind I can never really work through. Not really. Not by myself."

"Okay." Her voice was small.

"So, I don't know. I guess I just don't know what you want with me, you know? I mean...If-"

"I just like you. That's all I know. Like _I _said last night, I don't know if that's enough to potentially ruin a perfectly good friendship." There was pain in her voice, like she was scared. I felt the same way.

"This has never happened to me before, you know. Liking someone like I do you. I've never been interested in this sort of stuff." I hoped that might ease her fears.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"This sucks." She sighed.

"Does it?" My heart sank. What if she didn't want to be with me? I never really thought about that possibility. Maybe I put _too_ much stock in what Rod says. Maybe I just wanted her to feel the same so badly that I couldn't even think of failure. After all, if _I _felt something, I had assumed she had.

"Well, I don't know what to do." She ate a few spoonfuls of the chili. "I mean...What do you think we should do?" She was forcing me to be the one to make a decision. What if she didn't like what I wanted?

"...Maybe...We..." I desperately wanted to say that we should take it slow or something, but the words just wouldn't come out of my mouth. "...We should..." Damn.

"Maybe we both need some time to think." She mumbled. "Then we can make a decision about this."

"...Sure." I felt like I wanted to scream or say something else, but I couldn't do anything but stuff my face with the chili. We were quiet during the meal, and for the first time the unspoken words between us were very uncomfortable.

* * *

><p><strong>Alice's POV<strong>

I felt terrible. I had avoided seeing Neil for nearly a week. Rod even came by to see what was up with us, but I dismissed him and told him all that was happening between us was that I was way too busy. That's it, it was a start of a new season and I had plenty of work to do. It wasn't _really_ a lie, as I _had_ been more busy than usual, but both Rod and I knew I would always make time for my friends. I just...Didn't.

I didn't know what to say to him, honestly. Sure, I knew what I _wanted_ to say to him, but I wasn't sure if that was the right thing. Besides, what if it all went belly-up? I couldn't risk losing him like that. He was the only person in town who really got me. He probably didn't realize it, but he _really_ understood what I was about, and that both delighted and frightened me.

Now that I knew he liked me too, even if it was in his own way, I was scared to proceed. What we had _now_ was good enough for me. And with him...Would it be any different anyways? Didn't he say he didn't do romance? I could've sworn he had said that. And then, what about his ex? He couldn't even hold her hand much. Could I live with that? I would probably be pretty needy. That might push him away.

What to do?

"Are you coming to the diner tonight? Thought I'd ask since I haven't seen you all week..." Rod was standing on my doorstep. I gave him a sad look but tried to look as frazzled as possible.

"Wow, I'm just super busy-"

"I know, but you always...You always come." He sighed, crossing his arms. "Is something the matter? Something I should know about?"

"...Do you want to come in?" I opened the door wider. He nodded and followed me inside. I shut the door and gestured for him to sit at my table. I sat across from him and leaned my head on my elbows. "Listen, there's some stuff going on between me and Neil, and I don't know if he'd be okay with me sharing it with you."

"I probably already know. He tells me more than you think."

"...Alright, fine. So. You probably already know then, that On New Year's, I confessed to him that I sorta...You know, have a crush on him, right? Well...I tell him that, so he says to me, he says: 'I think you're great, blah blah, I like being with you.' And now I don't know what to do. On one hand, this could be great- but on the other, I could potentially lose my best friend, you know? I'm not even sure if the pros outweigh the cons in this situation." Rod leaned back in his chair, giving me a thoughtful expression.

"...So, what you're saying is...Is that you don't want to take a leap of faith because you might not fall on fluffy pillows, right? Basically?" I nodded. "Okay. Well, you know...If there's anything I've learned from life and being friends with Neil as well as moving around and going with my gut...It's that sometimes you have to do what your heart tells you to do. And it might hurt in the end, but you won't have any regrets or what-ifs, you know? And you learn valuable lessons either way." He leaned forward, and I made sure to pay careful attention to what he said next. "Who knows? You and Neil could be each others soul-mates. But, it could also be that you two _aren't_. But...You know, you'll never find out until one of the two happens. And the funny thing about soul-mates, by the way, is that you don't have to be romantically involved with them. You'll always come back together, because that's what you're meant to do."

"...I guess. I just don't want to feel any of the hurt, you know? I feel like I've been hurt a lot." My throat tightened. "And I don't want to hurt Neil, either."

"That's funny. He tells me that he doesn't want to hurt you either. I don't think _anyone_ does in this type of situation. Very few people set out to hurt someone they care about. Sometimes it just happens. It's part of life, you know? You have to accept that. The bumps and bruises come with the smiles." He mused.

"...How are you so smart?" I sighed.

"I stopped living in fear." His eyes locked with mine. "I lived for so long with fear and doubt. Maybe I still have doubt, but I'm not scared anymore. I used to cry a lot as a kid; I would get easily upset, but I figured I was wasting my time crying and not enough laughing or exploring. I love learning, and you can't learn very well with tears blurring your vision." He shrugged, as if what he said wasn't as profound as it was. "Stop living like you're going to regret what you do today and just go _do_."

"So you think I should just suck it up and tell Neil I want to be with him, right?"

"Basically."

"I don't know. I'm scared to jump, you know? What if he changed his mind already?"

"You think Neil would change his mind about something _like this_? The man is stubborn. More stubborn than any mule I've met, even. And if he told you he likes you, it means his mind has been made up for a long time."

"That's true." We both rose from the table and I walked him to the door.

"So?" He raised his eyebrows at me, crossing the threshold of my farm house.

"...Maybe I'll come tonight. _Maybe._ And maybe I'll tell him how I feel. Don't quote me though."

"Alright. I'm gunna go talk to him. He's a mess, you know. He thinks you hate him or something."

"I don't hate him!" I laughed in spite of myself and Rod grinned.

"He's a worrier. I'll go ease his fears, but I won't tell him what you said today, alright?"

"Okay."

* * *

><p>I arrived at the diner about fifteen minutes later than usual, so I wasn't surprised to see that the boys where already at our usual spot in the corner. Rod saw me first and waved. Neil didn't make a move to greet me, probably afraid to test the waters or something.<p>

"Hey." Rod smiled, which faded when he noticed Neil did not say anything to me. His eyes were fixed on the glass of water in front of him, watching a drop of condensation fall down the glass.

"Hi guys." I pulled my coat off and hung it on the chair. Neil looked up at me as I sat down. A million different emotions flickered across his face in that moment, but he quickly resumed his neutral grumpy look.

"Hi." He muttered, obviously upset that I had effectively been ignoring him for the whole week. I felt awful, but I managed a smile.

"Sooo..." Rod trailed off awkwardly, hoping to start a conversation. Poor guy, he was always trying to be the peace-keeper. "Uh, so it's getting nice and warm out, finally. No need for hats and mittens anymore. I heard it's going to rain though sometime next week. But at least the temperature will be more comfortable. Maybe a raincoat or a light jacket might even do. Like a hoodie? You like hoodies, right Alice?"

I shrugged."I have several."

"I like hoodies too..." He trailed off, realizing how stupid he was starting to sound. I gave him an empathetic smile and he seemed to appreciate it.

"How are you?" I was looking at Neil, who failed to register what I had asked. "Hey, Neil, how are you?" He looked up.

"Oh me? I had assumed you were talking to someone else, since we hadn't spoken in a while." He grumbled. I felt my face whiten.

"Are you really going to be a girl about this? _Really?_" I growled. A muscle in his jaw tightened.

"I've been okay, you know? Still breathing and what not." He pushed the glass he had been staring at away from him.

"I've been _busy._" I reminded him.

"Busy? Yeah, me too. Very busy." He said quickly, his voice laced with sarcastic overtones. His eyes met mine, but all I saw was pain and hurt. Not even a hint of anger like his voice had suggested. I get it. He was upset because he spilled his guts to me and I ignored him for a week. I'd be pretty upset too.

"Neil, you shouldn't be so upset." Rod muttered to his friend. Neil scoffed at him.

"Sure, you don't care. _You_ talked to her. She had time for _you._"

"_I_ went to go see her, to see if she was okay. More than what you did." Rod hissed. I was taken aback by his sudden ferociousness. Neil's face reddened and a vein pulsated in his neck. I slid my chair away from the table, certain a fight was about to break loose.

"Whatever."

"What's wrong with you!?" I raised my voice, feeling anger deep in my chest. "You're being a baby!"

"I just don't like-" He cut himself off completely, glaring at Rod for a second. "I just don't like it when people just throw my feelings away like garbage." He whispered. Rod groaned loudly.

"She wasn't _purposefully_ ignoring you. And this is definitely not the way to start dinner..." Rod sighed. I barely heard him over the sound of blood rushing in my ears. I was sure my face was red.

"You think I _like_ feeling this way? I've been agonizing all week over you. What to say, what to do – It's been hell!" I hissed. He leaned back in his chair, obviously surprised.

"Yeah, so what do you think?" He grimaced his voice slow.

"What do I think? Neil, I want to be with you but...I don't know. I think we should take it slow, since you _obviously_ have reservations about this whole thing, and also because of the way you're acting right now! What I do know is that I _do_ want to be with you, alright!?" My face was red with anger. I didn't realize what I had said until I looked over at Rod, who was desperately trying to stifle the smile on his face with his hand. I could feel the blood drain from my face.

"Take it slow?" Neil asked, his anger all but spent. "...Well, I'm okay with that. And I _do_ have reservations about this sort of stuff, cuz' I don't even know how to be in a relationship...But I guess we can learn together." He grunted.

"Yes! I knew it! Alright! Let's eat!" Rod said, bewildered at the whirlwind of emotions he just witnessed. I was still partially confused at what had happened when he pumped his fist happily like the dork he was. "I'm so happy for you guys! Ugh, _finally_! After like, a billion years you guys are finally biting the bullet. Stop being so stupid. Oh man, I'm so ready for this. You guys are going to be great!"

"Shut up, Rod!" We yelled in unison.

That was definitely _not_ how I wanted that to go, but...Well, that's how it worked out. Oh well. 

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Whoops, there was an awful typo and I fixed it. Thanks goes to MelodyGirl239 for catching it. :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Neil's POV**

I was walking Alice home by myself this time. Rod said it would be a good idea if we could talk stuff out alone, this time without shouting.

"...I wish that could have gone along nicer." I muttered, half-hoping she wouldn't hear me. Unfortunately she had, because she nodded.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you."

"I'm sorry for acting the way I did. I was just so angry that you hadn't said anything to me. I felt like if you _didn't_ want to be with me, that the least you could do was just come right out with it instead of making me wait in painful silence." I admitted. "But I realize that was pretty selfish of me to think you were ignoring me..."

"...I sorta was." She mumbled, her face turning pink. "Sorry. But I _was_ really busy too! I just...Didn't know what to say to you. I needed time to think. Plus it didn't really seem like you were totally on board with the whole thing either, I mean, I gave you the opportunity to spill your guts out to me and you didn't and instead said that you wanted to have some time to think, so I just... I mean, I was scared, you know?"

"I know." I sighed. I knew it had been a mistake to not just come out and say what I wanted. Well, at least it turned out okay. "So, what do we do now?"

"...I dunno. I guess we're together now, right? I...I mean, is it too early to call each other boyfriend and girlfriend?" A nervous smile was masked under her unabashed eagerness.

"I'm not _uncomfortable_ with that, but I think it might be too soon." I flushed.

"Yeah." Her smile faltered a bit. "You're right."

"So, should I take you like, out on a date or something?" I gulped.

"Probably." She shrugged. "I think to be considered 'dating' we have to go out on a few dates, right?" A ghost of a grin graced her lips.

"Oh, yeah." I laughed nervously. Her shoulder bumped into mine and I felt her fingers brush across my palm. They lingered for a moment before she pulled her hand away. I watched her expression, but her eyes slid to look at me, as if asking a question. There was an apology hidden there on her face as well, and it made me a little upset. "...We can hold hands, if you want..." I muttered, making sure to look straight ahead. I felt her eyes on me.

"If you don't want to, we don't have to. I don't want to force you to do anything you're not comfortable with.."

" Just take my hand whenever you want. I'm not a robot or anything. I can still show affection, you know." Her hand decisively wrapped around mine, and I felt my heart speed up. So this was what actually liking someone felt like. There was not a shred of obligation at all, just nervous energy. Unpleasant, but I still enjoyed it for some reason. Humans are so weird, aren't we?

"I was under the impression that you couldn't." Her voice was smug but the question remained in between the lines.

"Not that I can't, I just _wouldn't_. Remember, I don't do anything I don't _want_ to. I didn't want to back then, but now I do."

"You're so confusing."

"Sorry."

"You don't have to apologize, I was just stating a fact." She smiled mirthfully, trying to lighten the situation, her arm flush against mine. When her farmhouse came into view, I almost felt sad. "So..._Dating._" She rolled the word around her mouth, tasting it. It seemed sour.

"_Dating_." I tried it too. Sour, yes. But it was sweet right at the end. Made it almost worth it. "What do you want to go do?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Maybe we could...We could go somewhere and have a picnic? I love picnics. You bring something, I bring something... And you can pick the place."

"I know a good spot."

"You always know a good spot." She laughed, opening her front door. "When do you want to go?"

"Hmm. How's Saturday afternoon?" This whole dating thing already felt pretty good. Easy even. Why was I scared about it in the first place? "Does that sound good?"

"Yeah. So...I'll see you then? You're picking me up here, right?"

"Sure." I felt myself starting to smile like an idiot. She reciprocated the idiotic smile and shut the door.

* * *

><p><strong>Alice's POV<strong>

"So you've finally come. Are you here because you finally came to your senses?" Allen smirked from behind the counter, his glasses glinting in the obscenely bright light of his salon.

"About what?" I grumbled.

"Everything. Me, your awful hair, your odd fashion choices." He gave me a smile that was way too flirtatious, especially because he was insulting me.

I had to admit, even though Allen was slimy, it was nice to get that sort of attention from him, or any man really. But I knew, at least with Allen, it wasn't a look reserved just for me. I did not like the kind of man he was or any man like him, but he was sure _fun_.

He was fun in a different way then Neil was. Since I cared about Neil, I didn't want to push his buttons. With Allen I did. See how far I could take it, record his responses. Neil was too soft underneath his armor. Vulnerable. Maybe that's why I liked him. I knew Allen, even deep down, was just as cold and callous as he was at the surface. He was fully fossilized from his hard childhood. I might have liked Allen in another life he had more kindness hidden away in his heart, locked away deep somewhere where only I could access it, but when I looked into his eyes, I saw none.

"Hardly." I finally answered, giving him a smirk.

"Too bad. What are you here for, then?"

"I actually need a trim. My trusty hair clippers finally broke after ten years of use, and I need the sides buzzed. I'd have to go into the city to get a new pair and I just really don't feel like going back there. And well, as you can see, they're about the length of a 4". Can't have that, now can I?" I sighed. "I need a 1". Can you do that for me? Either you stomach doing this for me every few weeks, or you can sell me some new clippers right now and have 'em shipped to my house. Your choice." His face whitened.

"I don't want to do either." He admitted. "But, if it's for money, I guess I'll have to do as you ask. You _sure_ you don't want to change up your hairstyle?" He pressed.

"Not today, Red."

"Fine." He huffed. Get in the chair. You're lucky that I don't have an appointment until later this afternoon."

I sat down in his chair and patiently waited for him to get his clippers ready. He seemed to look a little sick as he plugged them in.

"I've never done this to a girl before, you know." He admitted. "It's a little weird."

"What's weird is that if you took that sentence out of context. Oh, and also that you're actively thinking about what's in my pants while cutting my hair." I looked at him in the mirror. His eyebrows furrowed.

"What do you mean by that?"

I shrugged. "I'm just saying. If I was a boy, you'd have no problem. I expected someone like you could appreciate the blurred lines of gender constructs,_ Mr._ Hair-Cutter-Person _sir_. I mean, no offense, but you probably take longer getting ready for the day than I do. It shows, too. No shame in that."

"Was that a compliment?" He turned on the clippers. They were quietly humming. Newfangled. Fancy. Ooh.

"Maybe. What's it to you?" I grinned. I was close to getting him where I wanted.

"You like me, don't you?" He smirked.

"You think _everyone_ likes you." I challenged.

"Everyone _does_, even if they hate themselves for it." He answered smugly. I rolled my eyes, but it was a little true.

"Just get to cutting, will ya? I'm paying you to cut, not to yap. 'Bzzzz!' That's the sound I want to hear, not your voice." It was his turn to roll his eyes.

"Fine, I'll do it. Here we go." And the clippers where in my hair. He visibly winced as a huge chunk of it fell to the floor. "This is so awful." It looked like he wanted to cry. I laughed a little at his expense.

"I'm sure it is._ For you._" We were quiet for a little while until he finished up the first side.

"...So, your New Year's bash was actually quite fun." He mumbled, his eyes fixated on the task he had before him.

"Really? Thanks. I think we needed more games or entertainment. Don't you think?"

"Drinking and music is usually enough for adults. Everything else is for silly teenagers." He answered absentmindedly.

"I should've forced Michelle to do some magic tricks."

"That girl wouldn't do it if she didn't see a dime." I looked at his expression in the mirror. It wasn't _quite_ one of distaste, but it wasn't one of joking either.

"You...Hate her too?" I asked carefully. He grinned.

"Hate her? No, well...Maybe. She intrigues me, I guess. How naive of you to say so, though. I don't know, she's definitely not what she seems like on the outside. Seems..Cold-hearted. A gold digger, maybe? I like that. Duality."

" Wait, so...You like what you pride about yourself in other people, don't you? Narcissist." This made him laugh a little.

"I think a healthy dose of self-love is fine. Who else will like me if I don't like myself first?"

"That's a fair point." His eyes caught mine in the mirror. "You're insufferable enough, so _somebody's_ gotta like you." I joked.

"...You know what I like about you?" He paused.

"Oh here we go. No, I don't. Enlighten me, will you?" I snorted. He removed the clippers from my hair for a moment so he didn't have to talk so loudly. His expression suddenly changed.

"You're unique and not afraid to speak your mind. Of course, this is my _favorite _quality in myself, but that's besides the point. You're not like the other girls."

"Y'know, can I just say something? I hate when people say that. The whole 'you're not like other girls' bit. It sounds like a competition. I didn't sign up for competition. No one is the same as anyone else, regardless of gender..." I saw his grimace in the mirror and instantly felt guilty. "But I get what you mean.." I flushed. Wow, that was actually a bit rude of me, wasn't it?

"Way to ruin a compliment." He grumbled, his eyes back to the clippers, which were doing work again.

"Sorry." I was, too. I didn't realize he had been baring his heart to me, to be honest. He never really...It didn't occur to me that Allen was capable of sudden kindness like that without adding an insult. I felt bad. We were quite for a bit until he spoke up again.

"...So, you and Neil where rather cozy at the party. I saw you two in the morning, sleeping in the same bed." His voice changed, but it was trying to remain the same as it always was, or pretend like it was. I obviously hurt him more than I expected. Ugh.

"Yeah, but, did you see where everyone crashed? That was the only place left!"

"Yes, I was lucky I got part of the couch..." He murmured. "But I did notice you two stuck around each other a lot. You even went off alone together. Care to share what that was all about?"

"If we were alone on purpose, do you think I'd _want_ to share?" I crossed my arms.

"You don't have to tell me, I could just make up whatever I want then."

"You're _such_ a girl. So catty. It's none of your business." I really should check my language.

"You sound like him." He grumbled.

"Neil? Heh. We _do_ spend a lot of time together." I laughed a little. Allen was done with the sides, finally.

"Do you want a trim, too?" He leaned down, his face next to mine in the mirror. I nodded. "Off to the sink then." He patted my shoulders. I stood up and followed him over to the sink. He gave me a look that was hard to read as I sat down and leaned back towards the faucet.

"You're not going to be a creep, are you? I've heard rumors you have a fetish with hair. Don't be weird." I grinned at him. He rolled his eyes again.

"Just because I like touching hair doesn't mean it's a fetish." He growled. He's obviously heard that one before.

"You've probably been _dying_ to touch my hair, huh?" I grinned wider. He seemed flustered.

"Maybe. I've never done your hair before. It's new to me. Don't worry though, It'll lose its charm after today." He answered quickly, obviously a little miffed at my jokes. The water came on and his hands made me feel a little sleepy. I was almost a little sad when he said to get up and go back to the chair. Once he told me he had magic fingers. I was actually inclined to believe him just this once.

"-So, you're not going to try and ask more questions about me and Neil? I'm surprised."

"I was waiting for a more opportune moment, but since you asked: Are you two together?"

"Like 'together-together'?" I scrunched up my face. His eyes flickered to my reflection for a moment as he toweled off my hair.

"Yes, if you want to say it like that." He grimaced. The towel was placed on the counter in front of the mirror and he took his scissors from their holder. "Now hold still. I know you probably want it razored too, but I'll take off length first."

"Okay."

"...You never answered the question." Damn.

"Fine, you got me. Uh, sure. I _think._ We actually haven't gone on a date, yet. We're off on one tomorrow, though. It's a _secret_ where, though." I waggled my eyebrows at him and seemed amused.

"Ha! As if I care where your crummy little date is going to be." He chortled. "So you _really_ like Neil, then? I wouldn't take you for a girl who likes the strong silent types."

"What kind did you think I go for?"

"I don't know, the poetic princely type, maybe? Definitely not the cutesy pushover type, they might annoy you. That's why I knew Rodwasn't a candidate for your affections. I've been very interested in understanding you, you know. You're quiet enigmatic. I can't say that for many people I know. Usually I can read people like a book. Not you, though."

I decided to ignore most of what he said in fear that I would accidentally offend him again when he was trying to actually be genuinely nice."So, you think I like boys like you, only nicer?"

"Eh. So what if I do?"

"Ha! Too bad."

"Is it, though? Too bad, I mean." He was snipping away at the top layer. He must be nearly done. I shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess. Why?"

"I don't know, I guess I'm a little disappointed that this ship has sailed before I even realized what it was. You understand?"

"Are you trying to say you like me, Allen?" I asked monotonely.

"No, not really. I just like my options open, is all. Don't be so conceded." He cleared his throat, then continued. "Anyhow, it is a bit sad. You intrigued me. That's all I was trying to say."

"I think you like me and you don't want to admit it." I snickered.

"Nope." His voice was like air again. "On to razoring, and then you're off." He grabbed a razor comb and began hacking away at my hair. We were quiet as he pulled various sections up and combed them out with the razor. When he was done he did a quick blow dry and let me hairspray my bangs into place the way I wanted. When we were finished, he charged me the standard amount and wished me a good day. I decided to linger for one last thought.

"Hey, Allen?"

"Yes, dear?" He looked up from his counter. I smiled at him, trying my best to make up for the small blunder I had made earlier.

"You aren't so bad, you know."

* * *

><p><strong>Neil's POV<strong>

I had woken up surprisingly early for a Saturday morning. It was probably just nerves. I hadn't ever been really _excited_ for a date before. If I had to be honest, I wasn't sure if that was what I was feeling or not. I mean, sure, I was pretty happy about the whole thing, but what if I said something stupid and she was like 'Holy crap, why am I going out with _this_ loser?' I couldn't handle that. Not that I think she'd even think that, but like, _what if?_

I decided to take a shower after breakfast. Make sure to smell nice and whatever, I thought about combing out my hair so it didn't look so choppy, but it still seemed too formal to try and slick it down. I decided to let it be.

What to wear? It was still too chilly to be without long sleeves or a jacket; not that I ever took it off outside, but I wanted to wear something nice. It seemed like I wore the same camo-cargo pants and black t-shirt everyday. I don't think I've ever seen Alice wear the same outfit more than twice in the whole year she was here. Did I even have a nice outfit to wear? I remembered the black dress pants I had, and somewhere in my closet was a button up shirt, but that was about it. I had a few pairs of dark-wash jeans that I absolutely hated. Denim is too constricting in my opinion. Always had to wear jeans as a kid. Definitely not good for walking up the mountain.

Ugh, why was I even stressing? Wasn't this supposed to be something only girls cared about? I don't know. Maybe I was trying to hard. Why did I care? I obviously impressed her somehow by being who I was already. But still, wouldn't it be nice to dress up? I had time to sort out what I wanted to wear and make for lunch. I had a few hours, even. Kinda glad I woke up early. I could easily walk over to the Tailor's and see if they had something I liked. If they didn't, oh well. At least I tried, right?

When I walked into the store, Yuri was sitting at the counter, her usual bored expression on her face.

"Welcome." She sighed in her perpetually monotone voice. "Are you looking for something in particular today?" I suddenly felt self-conscious and nodded yes.

"Uh, y-yeah. I'm just looking for something. Like...Casual but like, formal-ish?...I guess..." I trailed off. It was obvious I hadn't been shopping for clothes in a long time.

"What's the occasion?" She droned.

"Well, you see, I'm uh, I'm going out. With someone, I mean. Like, on a date." I felt my face flush with embarrassment.

"A date? I understand." She straightened and began to look through the assortment of racks she had set up throughout her shop. "So, you're thinking something nice but not _too_ formal, right? Something you can dress up or dress down?"

"Yeah, exactly. I'm pretty picky with what I wear, too. So... Don't take offense if I don't uh, if I don't buy anything." I grunted. She nodded.

"I too am picky with what I wear. More than half the stuff I make I would never wear." She admitted, pushing up her glasses. "I love _making_ pieces, but I'm not fond of wearing things like dresses and the like. Not unless I _have_ to wear them." I nodded to show her I was at least half-listening to her. She seemed pleased that I didn't want to really talk or anything. After she pulled out a few dozen rejects, I finally saw something I sorta liked. Alice would like it, too.

"How much does that cost?" She looked on the tag that was attached to it..

"Only 1000G. I made this quite some time ago, last Fall I think. It's marked down. Are you interested in this piece?"

"Hmm. Yeah. It'll go nicely with some stuff I already have in my closet." She draped the item over my arm.

"Thanks..." Her voice always sounded far away. In some ways, Yuri always seemed to be day dreaming, even in the middle of a conversation. She was artistic though, so maybe she was just thinking up new designs in her mind. She was one of the few towns-people that I found okay right away; I never had a problem with her. She seemed to dislike idle chit-chat just as much as I did.

I reached into my pocket and fished out some money."Here, I think this is enough. Thanks."

"Would you like a bag for that?"

"Uh, no thanks. I'm just going to go put it on anyways."

* * *

><p><strong>Alice's POV<strong>

It was totally obvious what I should make for our little picnic. I would make Neil's favorite, of course. And I would have to make some dessert. He hated sweets, so what could I make that he would like, too? Maybe I should just skip dessert. Nah, I love dessert. I gotta have it. I could always make some candy. Maybe cinnamon candy. Yeah. I still had a batch from a few weeks ago. They'd still be good. I bet he was a salted-caramel kind of guy too. I'd have to make some one day for him. Maybe I'd ask him if he liked those first, though...

I already knew what I wanted to wear too. I realized Neil didn't really _care_ what I wore, and anything skimpy was probably lost on him, but I figured dressing up a little would be good. Something frilly and lacy and gaudy. Like a witch! I liked my witchy-clothes. Very flowy. Perfect for a warmer spring day. And it had long sleeves, so I wouldn't get cold if there happened to be a breeze.

After work I took a shower because who wants to smell like cow on a first date? I had to admit, I was pretty excited about the whole thing. I had never been on date before. I wasn't even sure what one was supposed to be like. I hoped it was at least a little like in the movies. Laugh, talk, someone says something while yelling in the rain, maybe even an airport scene down the line. That would be funny. I couldn't imagine Neil even being _in _an airport. If, for some reason, there was an airport scene in my life, I guarantee you Neil would just let me go on the plane and then yell at me when I got back. Heh.

Anyways.

If I said I wasn't nervous about the whole thing, I would be lying. But I wasn't as nervous as I thought I'd be. I mean, I'm not even, like, sweating profusely. That's a good sign. It was Neil. Neil is my best friend. It would be the same, just...You know, different.

I already know he's gunna clam up a little. I had to make sure he stayed a little open. He's made a lot of progress with me. I know at least half the stuff he's told me he's only told like, _maybe_ Rod.

After I finished the shrimp chili and packing up the cinnamon candy in a little container, I put all the stuff we'd need in my trusty basket. I wonder what he'd bring?

* * *

><p><strong>Neil's POV<strong>

I knew she'd be an over achiever and try to bring the main course _and_ dessert, so I decided to just make like, I dunno, a salad or whatever. Girls like salads, right? That's all they ever seem to eat. I guess not Alice, though. She ate whatever. But still. Salad. Good side dish no matter what she decided to make. I could take a pretty good guess that it was probably my favorite dish, but I didn't want to be disappointed in case she didn't.

I checked the time. It was almost one. I usually ate lunch at noon, so I was starting to get hungry. Good thing it was time to go.

As I made my way towards her farm, I felt myself falter. This was stupid. I probably looked stupid. Why did we have to do this, again? Why couldn't we just be like, 'Hey I like you. Awesome. Now we're together. Yay!' All done. Like, I don't know, little school kids do. Everything simple. Hold hands and whatever. None of this stupid dating stuff. What even was dating to us? We already knew each other well enough, right? Was dating just a stupid adult thing? I always thought teens did it to have an excuse to go out. Why did anyone date, anyways? If you know the person well enough to say you like them, why go through all this trouble?

I didn't want to chicken out, though. She'd be royally pissed if I decided to stand her up. That would be awful of me, anyways. Why would I even think about doing that? Ugh. I'm so terrible. Why does she even like me. Oh, great. I'm practically twenty feet from her doorstep and my face is probably all red and I'm probably all sweaty and gross and I probably look like a complete dork with this stupid fancy waistcoat. I was too over dressed, probably. And she'd make a comment about it, and I'd feel dumb, and then she'll feel bad and and damn.

Knock knock. Please take your time coming to the door, Alice.

"Coming!" She yelled from inside the house. I shifted uncomfortably, the container of salad tucked under my arm. Here we go. The door opened and she grinned manically at me.

"Hi!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Neil's POV**

"Hi." I flushed. She had the basket she used during the Starry Night Festival looped over her arm. She looked nice, had a long black skirt on and a frilly coat. On anybody else it would have been quite formal, but somehow she wore it so casually that it just...Wasn't. "You look uh, nice."

"Thanks. You too." She grinned. "Am I turning you? That's a fancy waistcoat you got there. Pretty soon you'll be wearing eyeliner and dying your hair black." Her laughter stabbed the air, breaking any tension that I felt. My hand went to my hair.

"Uh, no. That would be just...No. Awful." I blanched. "And putting some pencil near my eye just sounds...Gross. I'd probably forget I was wearing it and rub my eyes."

"I have a feeling you went through an emo stage as a teenager, didn't you? You _do _have an awful amount of black in your closet."

"I just like black." I muttered.

"I think you're lying. I mean, how can you _know_ you hate having pencils near your eyeballs? Unless you've _tried_ eyeliner before. No shame in that. It'd look hella cute on you, I think." She elbowed me playfully.

"Well, it's kind of like...I've never seen a shark in real life, but I know it'd be at least a bit uncomfortable to see one while swimming in the ocean. Same thing with having a pencil near my eye." I answered dryly.

"That's a bit different." She huffed.

"Is it?" I smirked.

"Whatever. Don't ruin my fantasies." She grumbled.

"Please don't fantasize about me in eyeliner." I paused and she waggled her eyebrows at me. "Or anything else." I made a disgusted face and she laughed for a good two minutes until she had to stop and put her hands on her knees to keep standing. "What's so funny!?"

"I-I...I just never...Ha! I never thought I'd hear you say something like that!" She wiped a tear away from her eye.

"It wasn't _that_ funny."

"It so was. You were all like 'Don't fantasize about me!' Heh. What a silly guy you are."

"It's weird. I'm serious. Don't do it. I can't even...Why do people do that? It's useless. I mean, if you think so hard about something, you might as well and go out and do the damn thing anyways. I never understood the appeal."

"Well, maybe it's because some people's fantasies are just too weird or difficult to do in real life. And besides...Trust me, I won't be doing any fantasizing about you..."Her voice dipped into a whisper. "Not yet, anyway." She waggled her eyebrows again. When she saw my expression remain the same, she sighed. "Aww, come on. You can't be like that. If you can't joke with me about it there's no reason to do this. _I _think it's funny. If you don't laugh, you'll just cry."

"This is probably the best first date conversation topic ever, right?" I sighed. "We're already on fantasies. Awesome." We continued our walk. "I mean, I don't think that's a usual topic for one." I laughed nervously.

"We _are _pretty strange to be begin with. I was just joking, anyways." She paused for a beat then said, "So you don't even have any at all? In all seriousness. I mean, I'm definitely not asking for specifics, but, never?"

"It's not something I'm comfortable talking about, but uh, no. Not really."

"Not really? What's that supposed to mean?" She pressed.

"I don't know. I haven't ever...Thought about it, I guess. I just...You know, haven't..."

"Well, if you _had_ to have a fantasy, what would it be?"

"I thought you said you weren't looking for specifics?" I could feel my face turning red.

"Well, I figure fantasies for you would be like, PG." She shrugged. "Am I wrong?"

"No, you aren't." The air was starting to thin. We must be close to the mountain.

"You're probably a big cuddler deep down. I can see it." She grinned. I _definitely_ was red now. "Yep. I can definitely see that."

"Could you stop?" I blushed.

"Ha! If you can't talk to me about this sort of stuff, then who _are _you gunna talk about it with? _Rod_?" She laughed again. I shook my head furiously.

"I'd rather not talk about it at all."

"That's dumb." She snorted. "C'mon, not even a blanket fort fantasy?" I think that'd be neat."

"Uh, no."

"No?"

"...Maybe." I shrugged. I've thought about it once or twice.

"I'd build a blanket fort with you." She said quietly. "...We can tell each other scary stories or watch scary movies together. I think it'd be nice..." she peered into my face peculiarly, grinning- "Or is that strictly a fifth date thing?" I didn't find it funny, although I probably should have. "Fine. Don't laugh." We were getting closer to my secret spot in the mountains.

"...Sorry. I'm just...I just am not super comfortable talking about this sorta stuff, is all. If you really want to know...I used to think about..." I hesitated. What if she thought it was stupid? "I used to think about uh, setting up a tent, right? And then uh, you know, just spending a night together, just talking and lookin' at stars or whatever by a campfire..." I blushed. It was a stupid sort of fleeting image I had sometimes whenever I had the rare thought of the possibility of dating, and I never really put a face to the partner in my head.

"Oh? I like that. That sounds lovely." She nodded. I felt a little relieved she didn't laugh. "We should do that one day."

"...Okay." I shrugged. That would actually be nice.

"So...Where are we going?"

"Oh! A secret spot. I noticed it when I followed some wild critters. They have like, a watering hole there. It's got a nice clearing, too. Lot's of flowers. It's right behind the waterfall."

"I won't get all wet, will I?" Her hand flew to her hair.

"Nah."

"Okay good."

"Alright, now...You have to step through here and...Over the rocks...Careful, they're a little slippery."

"I'm gonna fall! Here, take the basket-" She wobbled as she tried to pass me the basket, but she slid and started to fall before the exchange was complete. I rushed closer to her and caught her in my arms. She made a surprised noise into my chest and looked up at me. " Heh. That was like a movie. Like, Spiderman. The good one though, with Toby McGuire." She snickered. I rolled my eyes. If I had to be equated with a superhero, why did it have to be him? Nothing was wrong with him but... Was it the red coat? Actually, it was probably the social awkwardness. Great.

"Whatever, just come with me." I grabbed her arm as she steadied herself and lead her past the narrow rocky passage between the waterfall and my secret spot. We finally made it to a small clearing and she gasped.

"Wow! And this is what you do when you aren't hanging out with me? This is magical nonsense. Really, it looks like it's out of some fairy movie."

"Yeah. It's pretty special, isn't it? There's the watering hole I was talking about." I pointed to a small pool of water. "I come here a lot to think. I'd thought I'd share it with you. Since...You know...We're-"

"-It's great. I love it." She smiled at me. I could feel myself starting to smile back, so I forced myself to look away. I hated my smile. "Well, I'm super starved. Let's get this place set up and we can eat!"

After joyously finding out she _did _in fact bring my favorite dish and taking a few bites, we started to talk again.

"So, what do you come here to think about?"

"Oh, just...Bad stuff."

"...Bad stuff? Like...What? Or is that...Off limits?"

"Uh...Well...You know, not _really_. It's not important. Just...Stuff."

"So, yes."

"...Well, what do you want to know?"

"What kind of stuff troubles _you_? Besides everything ever."

"Just like...When I think about my parents and stuff...Sometimes when I think about...You know, what I'm doing with my life or like...All the stuff that makes me weird and different. I do a lot of comparing here."

"...Yeah." She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "You know, I wish I had a special place to think, too. The closest thing I have is when I go out in my fields and just sit there in the flowerbed."

"...Well, maybe you can come here." I felt my mouth twitch up into a nervous smile for a moment before I caught myself. "I don't...I don't mind sharing."

"I don't want to infringe on your special place." She put her hands up.

"Well, maybe it can be...O_ur...S_pecial place..." I trailed off. Oh geez. I was being lame, wasn't I?

"...Maybe." Her lips curled up into a small smile as she looked down at her food. She took a few bites before looking back up at me. "Look at us. We're doing well, I'd say. We haven't wanted to kill each other yet."

"This is nice." I nodded.

"Yeah, it is. How's the, uh, the food?"

"It's good."

"Thanks... I like the uh, _salad_ you made." She laughed. "Some cook you are."

"I-It was the only logical choice. I didn't know what you were making so-."

" It's a joke, relax! I'm not like, laughing _at_ you. I'm just, you know, laughing at the situation."

"Because that makes a difference." I rolled my eyes.

"The _intent_ is different." I made a face at her and she sighed. "You are just _adorable_." She grinned for the millionth time. I felt my face redden.

"Flattery will get you no where." She found this hilarious and laughed for a good minute before she sobered up. Her expression switched back to being serious.

"So...I was thinking. Have you kept up your resolution?"

"Yeah. I wrote to my mom a few days ago."

She nodded, suddenly looking shy."Yeah? Did you uh...Did you include _me_ in that letter?" She asked quietly.

"...She knows about you. I've told her a little bit about you and..._Us_, I guess. Although, I didn't give her details. She doesn't need to know _every_ aspect of my life."

"Oh." She looked down and swirled the spoon around the remains of her chili. I shifted around uncomfortably. Tension suddenly sparked between us.

"I mean, I wrote to her before we cemented..._this_." That didn't seem to help. Let's try that again. "I guess...I guess it's also because I'm a little afraid to tell her. About us. Dating, I mean." I admitted.

"...Are you afraid because...Of how I look? Probably not the cute little flowery girl your mom might expect from letters, right?" She smiled weakly. "I don't blame you."

"What?" I furrowed my brow in confusion. "Why would you think that?" She shrugged. "I just don't want to tell her because- Well, she might think I've been...You know...'cured.' I'm scared she might also want to know details. Gross details. She's like that. Maybe even try to meet you or rope me in to visit. I don't think I'm ready to head home and face my dad. _Especially_ not if my mom thinks I've been cured of something I can't be cured of, you know?"

"Right. Of course." She laughed nervously. "It was just a...Y'know, bad joke. Not serious. I don't really..." She trailed off. I knew she could tell I knew she was lying. Her eyes darted away from mine again.

"...Why would I be, you know, ashamed of you?"

"Well, you know. It's probably because..." She took a deep breath in. "A lot of really crappy guys have told me it's such a shame I'm...You know, like _this_." I wasn't catching her drift. She sighed and began to explain more in depth what she meant. "Like, if only I wasn't, you know, into all this," She gestured to her clothes, "I'd be perfect. Hear it enough and you start to believe it." She shrugged like what she said was nothing.

"What?" I felt the anger she should have been feeling rising in my throat. "That's...Stupid." Understatement of the year, actually. "That's...That's just not right. I mean, so what? _So what_ you like to wear, I dunno, zombie hands on dresses and bat clips in your hair? I think that's what makes you unique from other people. It's the way you express yourself. Kinda like this jacket I wear. It's what defines me. I'm that-guy-with-the-red-zipper-coat." I crossed my arms. "That kind of pisses me off, actually. You're great, not _despite_ what you wear or what you like, but _because of it._" I held back as much anger as I could, but I knew there was a sharp edge to my voice. I hoped she didn't think I was angry at _her_.

"...Thanks." Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment, as if she was trying to blink away bad memories.

"Yeah." I grunted.

"I mean it. That's...That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me." When she opened her eyes again, I noticed they were glassy.

"-Are you gonna cry?" It flew out of my mouth before I realized how insensitive it was. I really have to work on stuff like that. Her face contorted into anger for a moment before she wiped her eyes carefully so as not to smug her makeup. "I-I didn't mean-"

"No!" She growled. "I don't cry. I'm not a _loser_ like that, gosh!" She swallowed hard and took a few angry bites of the chili. She must have finished it because she put the bowl into the basket when she was done. I was mentally kicking myself for being such a jerk until I noticed she was talking again. "-Do you like them?" I placed my empty bowl in the basket.

"Do I like what? Sorry. I didn't catch what you said." She rolled her eyes and took an exaggeratedly deep breath in to start again.

"I _said_: Do you like candy? Like, cinnamon candy? I brought some. And I also wondered if you liked salted caramels. They're still pretty sweet but you know, not so much I guess. Not to me anyways. I can make some for you, if you like."

"Uh, cinnamon candy yes. Not salted caramels." She shook her head in disbelief. "Thanks though."

"Well, here. _Candy, _not chocolates or cake or anything _normal_ for dessert. Because you're like, an alien or something." She shoved a small container full of red squares of candy into my hands. "They're only a few weeks old, but they've been in that container and it's airtight, so I think they should still be good."

"Bringing stale candy to our date. How delightful." I snickered, shaking my head. Her face erupted into bright red.

"It's not stale!" She shrieked. I grabbed a piece and placed it in my mouth. It was very hot, but not too hot. Nice.

"You _like_ to make stuff, don't you? Is cooking like, a hobby of yours?" I rolled the candy around in my mouth.

"Uh, yeah. My mom and I would do it a lot together. Before I messed it up by being who I am, you know?" She laughed a little. "It relaxes me. I'm gonna be a cute old lady one day." A real laugh, now.

We sat in silence for a little bit. She was looking around the place in wonder once again. She finally turned to me again and gave me a mischievous grin.

"What?"

"So, what do you like about me? Obviously, it doesn't have to be something physical, but what is the one thing that made me stand out to you? And you can't say my uniqueness. We already know that's a big selling point."

"Your vanity never ceases to amaze me."

"Is that it?"

"No, that was just an observation. Umm...Wow. I guess..." I tried to think of something good without sounding lame. "I guess, uh, I like the way you can joke about everything. And I like how you're pushy but not, like, _too_ pushy I guess...? And if I _had_ to pick something physical about you that I like..." I squinted at her face. She fluffed her hair and posed dramatically. I shook my head and laughed a little at her silliness. "Uh, your smile. How cliché and non-committal, right?"

"Aww, that's sweet, Neil! My turn. Hmm...I think...If I had to pick one thing about you that I like...It would be..." She put a finger to her chin. "I'd probably have to pick...Your secret softness. Like, I mean, how you're a big teddy bear underneath all the 'grr-filthy-humans!' deal you portray." She nodded. "And if I had to pick a physical thing...it would be...Hmm." Something evil glinted in her eyes. "Your _butt_. Ha! Just kidding! You should've seen your face! It went completely white." I smacked my forehead.

"That's not funny!" She laughed for what seemed like forever until she wiped tears away from her face.

"It is! Okay, okay." She held her hands up as if she were surrendering. "Serious time. Um, I'd totally pick your eyes. I mean, them eyeballs are super great. Very expressive. Your eyes can go from the scary raging red of 'wow-I'm-going-to-kill-you' to the adorably light pink 'aw-look-at-that-cute-chicken' in less than a second. Impressive."

"Thanks" I smiled for a moment, then caught myself. Alice popped a piece of candy into her mouth and laid down across the blanket.

"The sky is so pretty today. C'mere." She patted the spot beside her. I fell onto my back and shifted closer to her. Her hands went up as if she wanted to touch the clouds. She opened and closed them, waggling her fingers up towards the great expanse of blue above us. I noticed her black nail polish was chipped, probably from work. "Don't you want to just, I dunno, eat clouds? I used to think when I was little that they would taste like marshmallows. Or cotton candy." She let the sunlight trickle in between her fingers like sand from the beach.

I raised one hand a little, pressing our arms together. "Yeah, I used to think that too." Her hands fell across her stomach and she sighed. My hand fell too.

"...I think we would have been good friends when we were little. Maybe we wouldn't have been so lonely, you think?"

"Maybe." Her hand dropped and laid next to mine. I could almost feel her asking with her eyes, but when I turned to look at her, her face was still up towards the sky. I let my fingers lay against hers for a little bit, but soon I gathered up the courage to lace our fingers together. My free arm went up under my head. This was good. This was okay. Relaxing even. We were even quiet and not uncomfortable. I think.

"I'm glad I met you." She whispered, her head turning towards me. I watched her mouth curl up into a smile. "I feel really happy when we're together."

"You're such a sap." I smirked to show her I was joking and her smile turned into a grin.

"No, you are."

"Nah."

"I think you are." She scooted closer to me so our shoulders were flush, her eyes on the clouds again. "What do you think they look like?"

"Which ones?"

"Any of them. Like, that one looks like a ghost." She pointed. I tried to figure out which one she meant.

"That one?"

"Yeah. Don't you think?"

"It reminds me of a seahorse, actually."

"Oh, yeah. You're right. I can see that. I like it being a ghost better."

"Of course you do."

After a while we decided to pack up and head on back. She made sure to hand me the basket and grab onto my shoulders while she crossed through the narrow passage on our way back to town. We held hands all the way up until we were at her door.

The whole way I was panicking internally. At the end of a first date people don't usually just hug or shake hands. I knew where this was going, and I wasn't sure if I really wanted to do that just yet. I hoped she wouldn't force anything, but I knew it would be selfish of me to ask her not to even try. I shamefully tried to think of a way to maybe respectfully bow out of the goodbye kiss, but I couldn't think of anything that probably wouldn't hurt her feelings. I would just have to suck it up. It couldn't be so bad, could it? After all, it wasn't my first kiss _ever._

Oh, but...Maybe it was hers? Like this, I mean. She kissed me on New Year's but this was different. I couldn't ruin this by sharing my discomfort. Something like this should be special. She _deserved_ it to be special. Plus, even though it wasn't_ my_ first one ever, it would still be _our_ first legit kiss, so it had to be good. I was still pretty nervous.

Maybe I was just overreacting. Maybe she would be just as nervous as I was and totally opt out of it. I would be a little disappointed, actually, but mostly relieved.

"So, here we are." She gestured to her front door. I shoved my hands into my pockets and nodded awkwardly. "I uh, I had a really nice time." She continued.

"Me too."

"We should do it again." She dropped the basket by her door.

"Defiantly."

"Well, uh..." She stepped towards me, and I could feel my heart quicken. This was it.

It all happened pretty quickly. One moment her arms were wrapped around my neck and her lips were on the corner of my mouth, and the next she was waving and shutting her door.

I walked home in a daze, probably smiling like an idiot. I'd say it went pretty well. I didn't even say anything _that _stupid. And the kiss was relatively painless as far as I was concerned. I might have even enjoyed it a little bit.


	12. Chapter 12

**Neil's POV**

A few weeks passed since our first date, and things between Alice and I were going pretty great. We hung out a little more often than usual, which was nice and took up almost all my free time...Which was also pretty good too. You see, I found myself unable to ruminate in the things that usually made me pretty down, and if something_ had_ bothered me either from work or just in general, I was able to immediately get it off my chest when I saw Alice. She was a very good listener, despite her usual chatty nature.

I could hardly wait for her when I got a letter back from my mom.

I grabbed it out of my mailbox right after Tina left, trying to avoid an unnecessary conversation with the gossip queen. I was almost afraid to open it. I had vaguely...Like, just _barely_ hinted at a possible relationship between Alice and I, and I was worried that my mom had read in between the lines and blown the whole thing out of proportion. Although she would be mainly correct, she still probably would spew many many messy paragraphs about having grandchildren and marriage and a whole bunch of other weird stuff. I decided it might _not_ be best to wait for Alice to read it.

When I read what she had to say, I almost felt sick.

* * *

><p>"What's the matter with you? You look awful today. You're not getting sick, are you?" Alice brought her hand to my forehead. "You're really pale. Like, more than me. And I'm pretty pasty."<p>

"No, I just...I got a letter from my mom today."

"Oh, yeah?" She withdrew her hand. "What did she say?"

"Do you want me to read it to you?"

"Sure." I pulled the letter out of one of my many pockets. "Is it bad?"

"Uh, well, you decide. Don't laugh at the embarrassing bits." I cleared my throat and smoothed out the stationary adorned with cute pictures of cows and horses on the sides.

"_Dear Neil, My Baby Boy,_

_ I can't believe you have a girlfriend! You __**have**__ to let us meet her! I miss you so very much. I know you don't want to hear anything about him, but I know your father does too. I really think you should head out here and have a visit. I'll make some food and then you can have a tour about town. Stay for a weekend, even. It'll be so good to have you home. _

_Anyways, some news and gossip. I was talking to your Aunt Katie and-"_

"-Well, that's all that's important."

"She wants you to visit?" Alice crossed her arms.

_ "Us._ She wants _us_ to visit." I reminded her. "I can't go back there. Not now."

"Why not?"

"There's...Still a lot of bad blood between me and my father. I haven't quite forgiven him for what he put me through as a kid. Through the years it's just stagnated and gotten worse."

"Well, maybe it's time to put all that aside." She gave me a sympathetic look. "I mean, I'm not trying to pressure you or whatever, and I really have no say in the decision, but-"

"Well, you do have a say, don't you?" I furrowed my brow, "I mean, she wants to see_ you_, too. And besides, you are my...You know." We hadn't said the words yet. "My girlfr-"

"Yeah, I know," Alice interrupted, sensing my discomfort, "-but it's still _your _parents. Your hometown. I know you have a lot of painful memories there, so if you don't want to go I'm not going to say anything."

"I don't know." I groaned, putting my face into my hands, "It's a tough decision."

"Well, don't make a decision yet then." Alice patted me on the shoulder. "Just think about it, choose what's best for _you_."

"The more I think about it, the more I don't _want_ to go..." I admitted. "But...Maybe I _should_ go. It's been a long time, and I...I kinda miss my mom. Hearing her voice." Alice nodded.

"Then it's official. We'll head off this weekend. Let's make arrangements."

"Wait, now?" I sputtered, "_This_ weekend?"

" Well, I figure it'll be like a band-aid. Just pull it off quickly, right? I mean, I'm nervous about meeting your parents. Let's just...Get it over with." She shrugged. "...If you don't want to do it right now, then I understand."

"No, unfortunately you're right."

"As usual." She grinned.

* * *

><p>"Sorry I was a little late, by the way." Alice muttered sleepily. "I had a hard time figuring out if I remembered to pack everything. I might have over-packed a little. I like to be prepared though. And then I had to get my animals situated for the weekend and make sure all my tools were easy to spot in the shed."<p>

"Wait, so who's taking care of your animals, again?" I hoisted up my big duffel-bag over my shoulder. It was pretty heavy, and I had to give the other side a bit of a rest. We had a long way to walk to the train station, considering the load. Alice was smart and brought a backpack and a suitcase to divvy up the weight. She had been excited to point out that it had spiderwebs on it earlier.

"Ah! You'll be pretty happy to know that I employed Rod. He's an eager learner. He _wanted_ to know how to take care of my babies. He's really stoked about it. I just hope he doesn't mess up."

"I don't think he will."

"Yeah, I have a lot of faith in him, the big dork. Oh, did you hear about him and Michelle?"

"No, what about them?"

"They made it official, _finally_. He tells me she asks for a lot of expensive stuff though. I'm wary of that. Poor Rod. So trusting and eager to please. Allen once told me he takes her for a gold-digger. I'm afraid he might be right."

"Allen?" I snorted. "Sure, because he's the final word on people."

"Well, he's _right_ most of the time. He was right about you, even. Face-value wise. You _are _a hermit." She smirked with an evil glint in her eye. " Relax, I'm just trying to piss you off. I don't mean it."

"...Whatever." I rolled my eyes. Mission accomplished.

"So, how far is the station?" She sighed.

"It's about a mile down from were I work. It's on the outskirts of the town Rod moved from."

"Oh, cool. So not too far."

"Yeah. Ugh. Why did we have to get a ticket to the earliest train?"

"What, you're not feeling up to taking a two hour train ride at six in the morning?" Alice gasped sarcastically.

"Ugh, but remember, I had to wake up at four-thirty so we could be out by five. I'm gonna be so tired. I won't be alert enough for the bombardment of questions everyone will have."

"Just imagine how I'll feel." She grumbled. "I don't even know these people."

"Be thankful." I sighed. "Once you meet them, you'll come screaming back to Echo Town."

"Heh, really? They can't be_ that_ bad."

"Oh, they can be. For instance, my Uncle Joe? Always smells like river-water and fish. It's gross."

"You really don't like your Uncle Joe, do you?" She asked carefully.

"No. He's best friends with my dad." I snorted.

"Oh."

"I tolerate him though because of Uncle Kurt. They grew up together so they're like brothers. And they grew up along side my mom as apprentices to my Great Grandpa Woody, who was a carpenter. So they're like her brothers, too. I have to respect him, you know? And I guess...He's not _so _bad. I just kinda...Resent him. He always agrees with my dad cause they're chummy."

"I see. That's understandable, though."

"Yeah. Plus-... Nevermind."

"No, what?"

"...I...Well, I dated his daughter, remember?"

"Oh, right."

"Yeah."

"...Is _she_ going to be there?"

"Who, my ex?"

"Yeah, her."

"Probably. Why?"

"I was just wondering." She shrugged. "No reason."

"...Don't let her get into your head."

"What does that mean?"

"Just what I said. Oh look, there's the ranch. See the buildings?" I pointed across the large expanse of fields and grass and fences.

"That's were my babies are from?" She shrieked, running over to the edge of the road.

"Yep. That's were I work."

"Look at all the cute cows over there!" She excitedly pointed to a cluster of them off in the distance.

"You see cows everyday, Alice."

"Not those ones." She smirked. "Look at how adorable they are! Even if they smell awful they have the kindest eyes." A dreamy sigh and then she bounded back over to my side. "Cows are my favorite. Especially the all black ones."

"Cows are my favorite too." I grunted as I switched the side I was carrying my duffel-bag once more. "We only have a little ways to go, and then we'll be on the train. Do you have the time?"

"Yep. I made sure to remember my watch. It's uh..." She peered closely at her wristwatch. "It's only 5:30. We're making good time."

"Alright, we should be there about ten minutes early if we keep pace." I yawned. "Then I'm taking a nap."

"Haha, alright. Me too."

When we arrived we put our bags away and sat down in the old seats and promptly fell asleep. When I awoke, Alice's head was on my shoulder and she was snoring lightly. I shook her awake and she nearly punched me before she realized who it was. We got off the train, still pretty tired, and made our way towards the town.

* * *

><p>"That was a fancy new train station." Alice commented, her feet dragging on the dirt path.<p>

"It was built a few years after I was born. My uh, dad helped raise money for it."

"...Really? So is your dad like, the mayor?"

"It's more like...An honorary thing. I mean, he did save this place from getting bull-dozed."

"...Are you like, rich or something?" Her face went red. "I mean, I'm pretty wealthy in my own right at this point anyways, and I'm not a gold digger or anything like uh, Michelle, but...It's a pretty fair question, right? I just want to be prepared."

"Uhhh, well. _Kind of._" I felt the color drain from my face. Did I really forget to mention something like that in all our time as friends? "It's not a big deal or anything, right? I'm not _personally_ rich, anyways."

"Well yeah, but it's probably all going to be left to you, right?"

"Yeah. I'd assume so." I paled as the realization overcame me, which was quickly followed by another one. "Unless he changed his will when I left."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"So... Now I imagine your childhood as just...Like...You were just all alone with no friends on a big ranch being sad and rich. Dabbing your tears with paper money. Like a cowboy Bruce Wayne minus the whole orphan and Batman thing."

"...If you take away the orphan and Batman thing, how am I like Bruce Wayne?" I felt a grin on my lips. What was with her and equating me with random superheros?

"You're right, you're more like Spiderman. Minus the orphan slash Uncle Ben dying thing. Or the radioactive spider. Then add the rich thing. Wait..."

"If you take away the-?"

"Shut up, you're like Spiderman." She grunted. "I know what I'm talking about."

"You're so weird."

"Are we almost there yet? My feet are starting to hurt." She whined. I stopped and looked around.

"Uh, yeah. Right around this curve you'll see a ranch. It's where I got my first job. A man named Bob owns it. Then we go right on through town and then we reach my old house."

"Awesome. Oh! I can see some horses from here!" She pointed with her free hand like a child.

"Yep, we're close. Let's hurry before anyone sees us. I'd rather do all the 'howdy-do's' later when my mom insists I give you a tour of the town." We picked up our pace, both of us unspokenly eager to rest our feet soon. I pointed out a few buildings and what they were before we finally made it to my old house.

* * *

><p>Lots of memories filled my head. I felt a lot of different emotions, too. Mostly anger and hurt. This place was filled with people who thought I was a freak; people who turned their back on me or just plain didn't care. Alice must have seen my face because she wrapped her hand around mine and squeezed.<p>

"You okay?"

"...Yeah."

We made our way towards the house. I glanced over at Alice who seemed to be in awe. It was a rather large estate; definitely bigger and grander than what my father had originally inherited. The trees that once blocked the east area of the farm in old pictures and been cleared out a decade or two ago and made room for more livestock. The pasture was moved so there was more room for crops.

"Wow, I want my farm to be like this one day. And here_ I _thought I had a lot of land." She whispered. "I'll have to talk to Dunhill..."

"It's not _that_ big." I muttered. We drew close to the front door. I was surprised that I didn't smell burning food or that my mother hadn't burst out from somewhere random. We both stared at the door before Alice nudged me.

"Do you want _me_ to knock?"

"No, I'll do it."I grumbled, shifting the duffel-bag's weight again. I knocked on the big door and heard shuffling. I knew my face turned white when I heard my mother's voice through it saying she'll be just a moment. Alice glanced at me, her face clouded with nervousness, but then she seemed to straighten as the door flew open.

"Who-!? Oh! Oh my Harvest Goddess! It's my baby boy! I didn't think I'd see your face so soon!" My mother, who was still as young-looking as the day I left, shrieked and threw her arms around me. I gave a weak smile to Alice, who was surprised at my mother's appearance. My mother had long blonde hair up in a ponytail and the same striking red eyes as me. Her age hardly showed in her face, and she was still as petite as she was before she was pregnant with me. The way she dressed was a little different than what I remember, a little more age appropriate. Pedal-pusher shorts gave way to pants and short-hemmed shirts now went past her belt.

"And look! This is Alice!?" Her attention zeroed in on Alice, who did her best to smile. "This beautiful woman is _your_ girlfriend? How'd you do it? Did you bribe her? I bet you did." She winked at me. "She's too beautiful, even for you. Just...Wow!" She shrieked girlishly again and embraced Alice, who stood there awkwardly. "Come in! I bet y'all are tired after the trek, huh? Set your stuff down in the living room until we get you settled in. Let's get some lunch in you too, shoot the breeze, and then Neil here can show you around town and say hi to everyone before dinnertime." My voice was scratchy and smokey like hers, but she tended to talk loud or even straight up yell. She was different than my father in that way; he had always been a painfully quiet man - something that I inherited, unfortunately.

I glanced at Alice, giving her an I-told-you-so-look as we were shoved inside. She rolled her eyes but stopped suddenly and took in her surroundings. She dropped her bags and stared at everything with her mouth slightly agape.

She must have been impressed by the high ceilings, braced with large cut logs. I used to look at old pictures in disbelief. The old dump he moved into was far from the huge cabin-like home he made after marrying my mom. I was glad, in that way. The old wood in the pictures looked like it wanted to rot. Now it was all new shiny black oak. My mother seemed to fancy white lace on everything, too. The curtains and the table-clothes had matching lace, and so did other random bits and bobs.

"You have a lovely home, uh, ma'am." Alice turned to my mother, skirting around the furniture.

"Oh, none of this _ma'am_ stuff. Call me Gwen. Even Ma, if you like?" My mother winked at me again. I shook my head at her. Alice reddened.

"Uh, okay..._Gwen_." Good choice.

"C'mon, let's get to the kitchen. I can make some sandwiches or something. I can't burn those, right, Lambchop?" She grinned briefly at me, turning and gesturing at us to follow her.

"Don't call me that!" I blushed, brushing past Alice.

"Aww, what? Your girlfriend doesn't know about your cute little nickname? Ha!" I glanced behind me at Alice, who was grinning as wide as my mother.

'Lambchop?' She mouthed, her eyes glinting evilly. I shook my head and decided to change the subject.

"Where's uh, where's Pop?" I muttered. Maybe I could avoid him as long as possible.

"He's out in the barn. He'll be in soon." We continued down the hallway towards the kitchen."You know, after you left..." She shot me a look past her shoulder, her blonde hair swinging, "Work was hard on him."

"That's too bad." I grunted, forcing my eyes from her. She seemed disappointed.

"He's used to it now, it's been nearly eight years now since you left...But still." She suddenly sobered up, "I know he regrets how he treated you. He just doesn't know how to say it. Please try to make up while you're here. For me, if not for yourselves."

"I dunno about that, mom." I sighed. She pushed open a door and we were finally to the kitchen. It was a snug room with a breakfast nook nestled in the corner. I remembered getting up at six every morning and eating breakfast in here with my dad. Usually eggs with toast with a glass of fresh milk. It was a bittersweet memory.

"What kind of sandwich do y'all want?" My mother peered into the open refrigerator. It was new. Fancy. Glass shelves and everything. They had redecorated since I had left. Of course they had, why not? It was still foreign and weird to me, though.

"Um, what do you have?" Alice asked quietly, her usual challenging nature all but gone.

"Everything and anything you could ever want."

"PBJ?"

"Sure! What about you, Lambchop?"

"I'll take a turkey sandwich." I sighed, sliding onto the bench at the breakfast nook. She obviously _wanted_ to embarrass me.

"-Let me help you with that, ma'am- I mean, Gwen." Alice jumped over to the counter next to my mom, who just gave her an incredulous look.

"Oh no, you're a guest!" My mother was obviously flattered. "Just go sit yourself next to Neil. So, tell me! How did you two meet? How did you get together?" She pulled various things out of various shelves and began the work on our sandwiches.

"Uh well-" The memory of our meeting made me feel a little ill. I had been so rude to her.

"Well-" Alice interjected, "Dunhill; that's Echo Village's mayor; sent Neil over to gift to me a cow when I moved in. He was a little surly, but eventually we became friends. I bugged him enough." Alice grinned, elbowing me in the ribs. I sunk down in my seat. How embarrassing.

"Of course. My boy has always been rude and hot-headed. He gets it from me. On his behalf, I apologize. So! How'd you get together then?"

"Well, on New Year's uh, I told him I liked him and then uh, it sorta went from there."

"Aww! How sweet! You're too cute. And I just love the way you dress. _Super_ cute. You know, I used to dress a bit like you as a teenager. Fishnets on my shirts and all." My mom smiled. Alice seemed a little relieved. "I just know everyone is going to love you!"

"Really?" Alice perked up.

"Yes!"

"Mom-" I groaned. "Don't get her hopes up. People here are jerks. _She's_ lovely and all, but _they _aren't." I glanced at Alice, who's face had gone pink at my off-handed compliment.

My mother put her hands on her hips and turned to me quickly. "You know, a lot of the kids that were mean to you grew up and told me that they regret what they did. Keep that in mind when you see them. Learn to let things go, bub. You haven't given them a chance to apologize." She placed plates in front of us with the sandwiches on them.

"Whatever." I picked up mine and took a big bite of it. Breakfast seemed like it was years ago.

"Thanks." Alice mumbled, taking a bite out of hers too.

Today was going to be a long day.


End file.
